SPD 47: James Reyman's Favorite Magazine

Steve Jobs once said that good design is not only about making things look better but making them work better. A well designed magazine, to me, is one that looks beautiful and reads well. It's paced well and I want to read it cover to cover. The typography, photography and illustration are stunning and the words hit home. The articles mean a lot to me. It's not a small thing, not inconsequential. A good magazine can help you make decisions in your daily life, can help you define yourself.

I am not aware and have not seen most magazines in this world so my point of view is very narrow. I'm sure there are brilliant magazines in many countries, in many languages that I cannot read. I like a magazine that is intelligent, serious, has a sense of humor, is informative and has moments of sheer brilliance. There are many magazines I love to read. I love the New Yorker, the articles are magnificent. The design is minimal and secondary but the art is magnificent. I love Guitar Player magazine. It's a wonderful magazine and I've read it for years. It a great magazine for guitar players, and it speaks to the guitar player in me.

The one magazine which I find always interesting, however, always well written and magnificently designed is Esquire. I guess I started reading it when Robert Priest was there. Didn't he have the Mercury typeface created by Jonathan Hoefler back then? The John Korpics issues were brilliant. I asked John at the time how his relationship was with his editor. He said it was the best relationship he had had with an editor. It showed in the issues.

The Curcurito issues are also wonderful. In the magazine, after you read many fascinating, funny articles on many interesting subjects from war to politics to health to business to beautiful, interesting women, you come across the 'What I've learned' page, which really explores the human condition. It's funny and compelling. The magazine is so good I can almost forgive them their fashion spreads where they will, (like in the current issue) photograph a casual winter outfit (coat, sweater, trousers) which goes for a total of $15,360. I guess they occasionally go too far.