47 02.21.12
Because hardly a day goes by in my office without I or one of my colleagues starting a sentence with: "You know how New York Magazine does..."
47 02.17.12
What's not to love about LOVE magazine? Fantastic production values, brilliant typography and a collection of some of the funniest fashion photography on the stands. Seriously, every issue I've picked up has had a photo essay or fashion spread that has made me laugh out loud; it's transgressive, of questionable taste and gorgeous. This particular issue has a series of Terry Richardson shots of Liza Minelli which was worth the cover price alone.
What I appreciate most, though, is its heft. You get a lot of magazine for the money. You could easily knock out a copy-editor with this thing. Aerodynamically, it's not the most sophisticated missile, so don't try throwing it at the interns. They're much too nimble. But the next time someone tries tracking in your carefully kerned copy, stamp over to their desk and get your backhand ready. LOVE it.
47 02.16.12
Vogue Gioiello (translate Vogue Jewel)--is a gem!
This Italian edition pays homage to the cover as a poster. Each is extraordinary, unpredictable, sophisticated and somehow innocent. They have a certain oddity that captures the eye, like all great art does.
Remember when covers for magazines did not follow intensive online market testing and get all same-y? Super-fun!
The typography throughout is slightly awkward, even clumsy. Interestingly, because it's coupled with sophisticated subject matter and slick sometimes conceptual photography, it triggers a mish-mash of emotional response that somewhere between insider-trade magazine-bohemian-gloss. What a fabulous crash!
Now I only wish I could actually read it.
I can feel it though the paper = rich as cream!
Bravo Bravo!!!
47 02.15.12
Monocle magazine, published out of London, England has set the standard for what smart navigation and immersive magazine making has come to be. The design is so compact that it almost seems like non-design (if there is such a thing). They've managed to utilize the page in a way that makes it seem very easy to find each story on the first pass yet find something new on the second or third. The photography -- like the design -- is very clean and journalistic in a friendly way. The throwback-style illustration is brilliant and creates a unique contrast to how global, and sometimes serious, the coverage can be. Ironically it's all produced under the discerning eye of Tyler Brulé (a Canadian) who seemed to have the journal size of a tablet in mind from the outset.
47 02.14.12
I am not sure if I have a favorite magazine, but when I picked up Colors this year and it was kind of like running into my best friend from college. And in this case all my friend wanted to talk about was shit. This is the kind of brazen, but informative editorial decision that kept me coming back when Oliveri, Tibor and Scott were first cranking out their social commentary in the early 90s. The table of contents give you a good sense of the depth of coverage. The photography is honest--making me laugh on one page, and wince on the next. Diagramatic hand-drawn illustrations and simple vector icons are used in support of the editorial coverage and add to the overall level of craft. It is a very humanistic experience that I appreciate in a physical form.
I also like the idea behind the online archive of Colors notebooks. They send you a bound blank magazine with nothing but an outlined COLORS logo on the front. You are given the autonomy of curating the editorial [or non-editorial] experience of your choice. You can find them at http://www.colorsmagazine.com/notebooks.
47 02.13.12
This issue has already been stolen from my office.
47 02.13.12
47 02.11.12
47 02.10.12
This is a monthly independent magazine about movies designed by art director Mariana Marx.Simple, clear, almost minimalistic most of its pages are printed with just one ink. It is an extremely low budget magazine where design plays a very important roll. A good example of respectful design as well as for reading and content.All the people involved: editors, writers and designers are cinephiles.Unfortunately after uninterrupted twenty years, the next few issues will be the last printed.
47 02.09.12
Quintessential packaging (how could Milton Glaser DNA be a bad thing?) with the most contemporary storytelling, revealing photography, and the wittiest infographics. All done in a week. New York's the prototypical reality show. Put a camera in that office!
47 02.08.12
I like to read business magazines and have worked for BusinessWeek and the NY Times designing them, as well as designing several in our studio over the years. When JK (no name dropper am I) redesigned Fortune a few years ago, I did something that I've never done before. I became a Fortune subscriber and it is now one of my favorite magazines. The redesign made the magazine sing. The typography is very highly tuned ... not decorative or overly ornate ... just really well crafted. The photography, illustrations and info-graphics are sophisticated and smart. I still miss Portfolio. I also think Fast Company is looking really good as well.
47 02.07.12
One of my new favorite magazines is PORT. A mens lifestyle & fashion magazine beautifully executed with a nod to the past but with a thoroughly modern edge. While the typography is clean, graphic and incased in a minimal grid system it holds some of the best fashion, travel, still-life and portrait photography. The resulting overall effect feels grand, luxurious and modern.
47 02.06.12
47 02.06.12
I realize this is not the most original selection, but man I just always love it.
There really is this dry windsor-knotted sense of humor throughout the book that comes across in the writing, headlines, design, photography and especially the mix of stories.
In taking itself so formally, it ends up being intentionally self deprecating and really freaking funny and entertaining. (everyone written about is "MR.")
I am also a massive fan of center axis anything; text, headlines, page structure....and pretty much all of Fantastic Man is center axis. The result is an elegantly brutal symmetry that ends up being yet a another expression of it's hysterically overdone formality. (Like calling everyone "MR.")
And the mix of stories! A peruse through the (center-axis-ified) front of book: A headline reads "Pocket Squares are the New Tits", then a full page on a fashion/art film on ice skating moves, then a picture of a nice umbrella (the headline is "Nice Umbrella"), then an old school etching of Ground Parrots for an article on bird watching, followed by a short piece on using aluminum foil....(yeah the stuff you bake tater tots on)....as a creative tool.
What. The. Hell.
Hysterical. Awesome. Riveting. Audacious.
I love it.
I also love when design or creative thought takes full advantage of a medium; in this case print. They will change stock inside the book from full color glossy pages suddenly to newsprint and black and white imagery. The cover has this pebble texture that feels like leather (how manly). I remember one issue had this little loose note between the pages fall out that just said "we wish you a wonderful summer." (how thoughtful)
Fantastic Man achieves what I feel is the ultimate compliment to a magazine maker: not wanting to throw it away. The feeling that this mass produced book is somehow special, and worth saving. I've never thrown away an issue.
47 02.03.12
One of my favorites is the cheeky and intelligent Monocle - at once a reader's magazine and a visual buffet. A broad range of topics are presented cleverly with clean information graphics, sometimes retro photography and quirky illustration. Every issue provides surprises. I can't wait to turn the page.
47 02.02.12
I received a complimentary subscription to Lotus magazine after I bought my first Lotus (the yellow one). What a pleasant surprise. Graphically, it's bold and clean like the numbers on a classic Formula One car. There's plenty of automotive porn: profiles of cars (new and vintage Lotus, naturally), professional drivers, even a car parts portfolio. All that plus cheeky style and culture stories. In all, it's racy in a mod way.
47 02.01.12
I find myself picking up Popular Mechanics more and more. The book is organized is such a beautifully complex way but still manages to feel simple. I love what they've been doing with covers. Using a simple small centralized image and then assaulting the surrounding real estate with type and color. The covers always feel like they have movement; like they're leading you somewhere exciting.