The Grid is a "city" weekly--not to be confused with an "alternative" weekly--published by the
Toronto Star. Dubbed "Toronto at street level" (thus, "
The Grid"--see what they did there?) the newsprint publication is distributed on the streets and for free.
"We wanted to turn the idea of a free urban weekly on its head and create a new kind of product. A kind of a hybrid. Something that looked and read like a magazine but physically was more akin to a newspaper. A mag that has relevant content, clean and contemporary design and highly-produced original photography. Something that readers would be a little bit reluctant to throw away at the end of the week," says The Grid's CD, Vanessa Wyse. "We wanted to reflect the true feeling of Toronto. There is a very raw approach to the photography and the tone of the magazine. It can be very tempting to look at great city mags like New York and take our cues from there, since they do it so well. But I think we have been successful in creating a magazine that is completely different."
Apparently, a few people agree.
The Grid just celebrated its first anniversary by cleaning up in the design categories at
Les Prix du Magazine Canadien (The Canadian National Magazine Awards), winning 4 golds and 2 silvers. Let's see how they did it ...
…
MORE