Category
On the racks
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On the racks
Magazines of the Colonial Period
10.20.08 | Permalink | 6 CommentsThe earliest regular Colonial newspaper was the Boston News-Letter founded in 1704. The hyphen, I’d guess indicates that media consolidation afflicted even the first publisher…though I’m not quite sure how. I learned today that The Atlantic was the first American magazine, and began publishing just two years after the BNL in ’06. As improbable as [...]
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Art Direction, On the racks
In Praise of the 50 cent Cover
10.17.08 | Permalink | 7 CommentsSo you’ve hired a Cadillac of a photographer and there’s a celebrity or maybe some high-strung supermodel. A few photo assistants are futzing with (rented) lighting in a (rented) space. An art director and assistant have flown in for the shoot, There’s a hair stylist, a makeup stylist, a fashion stylist, maybe someone’s built a [...]
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On the racks, Redesigns
Love child
So, did you hear the one where Maxim and Yoga Journal have a baby. Punchline:
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In the Ether, On the racks, Trend Spotting
Penny pinching
The editors at Budget Travel are awfully proud of their just-published 10th anniversary issue. In a statement in the June issue, they congratulate themselves heartily on their forward thinking. And, a flack from the magazine sent me a free copy along with an offer to speak to one of the self-satisfied editors myself. If Budget [...]
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New Launches, On the racks
Buyer’s Remorse
04.24.08 | Permalink | 3 CommentsreMarriage is the magazine for “Before, During, and Happily Ever After.” I suppose that “before, during and after” remarrying is not as broad a topic as “before, during and after the bris,” nor as weird as “before during and after the funeral,” but the cover lines, “Bride’s Dress Dilemma: Pouf or Posh?” “Today’s Mix and [...]
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On the racks
Missbehave
I wasn’t there at the eureka moment that spawned Missbehave [er, sic, maybe], but I imagine it went something like this: Editor: “We need something different….something like a magazine, but not like a magazine… something bold, yet decisive…..wild, frilly and feminine, yet sturdy and down to earth with machismo and swagger….a design that speaks Indo-European [...]
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On the racks
Recapitations
Photoshop Disasters writes with humor about digital flim-flam, including the current cover of Blender, which brings us the head of Britney Spears. Still, you have to admire the tasteless audacity of the coverline: “Britney Spears Has Lost Her Kids, Her Fans, Her Underwear…and Her Mind HOW WILL IT END?” In a puddle of Red Bull, [...]
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On the racks
Esquire Cares, Part II
Those of us who have kicked around publications for a while know that the letters page ain’t what it used to be. And, I’m not just talking about what appears in the magazine—though most glossies are printing fewer inches of reader reaction than in years past. Readers (and more importantly readers who write) no longer [...]
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Magazines of Mystery, On the racks
The Art Mystique
Clear Magazine blends form and title (if not necessarily function) about as well as possible with its current cover. A whisper-thin piece of frosted Mylar printed with nondescript artifacts of industry invites the reader to play peekaboo with the fashion plate underneath. The translucent cover is undoubtedly cool and intriguingly interactive. Less Clear is what [...]
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Art Direction, On the racks
Die Zeit
Die Zeit is one of the world’s most respected newspapers from both a journalistic and design standpoint (full disclosure: Mario Garcia who handled its redesign is interviewed in Designing Magazines) but I didn’t know that the weekly paper also publishes several magazines, including Zeit Wissen, which I came across at one of several DC newsstands [...]
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On the racks
Bastard measures
I recently received the second issue of ykky, an elegantly-designed English-language tabloid from Sweden. With all the frivolous anniversary issues one finds these days (Rolling Stone just devoted a whole issue to the Wah-Wah pedal’s ’40th) it’s nice to see a magazine commemorating something meaningful. In this issue, ykky celebrates “water,” which is, (I think,) [...]
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On the racks
Brass Tacky
NPR’s Marketplace did an intriguing piece on Brass magazine a few days ago. Their report made the magazine sound like a sophisticated and sincere version of Young Money, which I wrote about a while back. (I had used the example of YM to look at how fuzzy editorial goals can result in a design that’s [...]
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On the racks
Esopus
The arrival of a new Esopus is always cause for celebration—the current issue, which arrived on my doorstep yesterday afternoon is no exception. What makes this magazine so remarkable? Esopus uses—really uses–the tools of mass-production printing to create a publication that is a carefully orchestrated experience—a delight for mind, eyes and fingers. Subscribing to Esopus [...]
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On the racks
Chanceux, Chanceux
We come now to the final chapter of my Canadian adventure with LouLou, a shopper on the template of Lucky. What most struck me about the magazine was not its rather pedestrian design, but it’s shelf presence thanks to it’s oversized footprint. I usually saw the (otherwise almost identical) French and English versions displayed right [...]
Designing Magazines
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Designing Magazines is a book and blog edited by Jandos Rothstein. The book is published by Allworth Press You’ll find contributor biographies and links here.Order the book
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