(Lux,2018) 
(Salt,2018)
In creating and designing a luxury publication my main inspiration has come from my career aspirations of working within a luxury contract publishing team. I was powered through my underpinning of my dissertation research, as mentioned before, and in this I analysed in depth a luxury print publication, Salt Magazine for Swarovski. In doing so I found that through exploring luxury branded publications from a consumer perspective, in order to understand how they work as a communication method, that consumers wanted to learn something from the brand. I also learnt through consumer research that the aesthetic was something they aligned to. Research showed that consumers were more loyal to the publication Salt than they were to Swarovski as a brand due to the design and information provided that people formed aspirations too.
Going forward in creating my own luxury publication it is clear that luxury branded publications sit very differently from luxury publications. Publications provided for on behalf of a brand have a message to give, they are essentially by passing the editorial gatekeepers in order to communicate and elevate the most essential and best parts of the brand. Through using a contract publishing team to create these publications the normal roles of editors and editorial teams are bypassed and the brand is in control of their communications.
In terms of luxury design, magazines differ from books- in analysing Salt it was clear the modern and designed editorial and pages drew in the reader and formed a feeling of accomplishment through learning, however, I believe that there are more subconscious levels to forming aspirations around branded publications. When a brand is in control of their communication methods they have the power and money to control what goes into a publication. The paper is therefore a better quality, the layouts are more dramatically considered and the cover is specifically designed on strong GSM paper. In design analysis it is clear that brands are buying into the idea of cultural capital through their publishing houses- for example, Condé Nast publish Salt for Swarovski and through this partnership, the brand is able to tap into the luxuriousness of a luxury publishing house through design, paper quality, imagery and editorial.
Lux Magazine
Having worked on Lux Magazine myself before I understand the differentiation in this publication. Although it is not a branded publication nor a coffee table book the design elements of this publications is luxurious in the way it is presented and created. Aspects of this I will translate into Emergence. When working on Lux Magazine, I was able to learn and understand about layout options. Lux, in comparison to Salt, is a lot more minimalistic with a push of creativity however Salt is a lot more glamorous and art book looking. Both publications utilise matte 200gsm covers with spot uv used on the headlines. Lux paper is around 170gsm and Salt is around 150gsm paper. The aspects I like about Lux that I want to translate into Emergence is their push of creativity. The project I worked on with Lux was on young creatives and inspired this project so therefore the aspects of Lux and their luxurious look onto young creatives through their minimalistic luxury design layouts. I think the thick 200gsm matte cover works really well for luxury publications that want to communicate new millennial youth, so for my coffee table book I will push the matte paper in the design.
In analysis luxury magazines can influence the way I design the luxury branded book through design aspects as well as the voice they use to carry their message of a combination of luxury and youth. I believe it is important to take inspiration of design and the luxurious voice from both publications- Lux communicates a much more minimalistic tone of elevating creativity however Salt is ultimately promoting the brand- aspects that both need to bought into Emergence
