Overmatter
Andrew has a guest report from Offset2010 by local designer James Kelleher. Sounds like we should all have been in Dublin last weekend.
‘I don’t feel in my water that people will inevitably use their iPads to read complete magazines on. At the moment they’re using magazines to try out their iPads with, which is not the same thing at all.’ David Hepworth is correct about the the stage we’re at: wondering what we can do beyond just mimicking print.
Here come the single-orientation apps! Jean gives a hesitant thumbs up to the new Lexus-sponosred US Esquire iPad app.
I have another magazine to sell here, news soon. Meanwhile, I’ve been meaning to mention Brighton’s Magazero again, who stock many of the magazines reviewed here.
Magazine of the week: Article
Article has been around for a couple of years in Sheffield. It was launched by students Alasdair Hisccock and Ben Dunmore as a local alternative to the ‘barren landscape of free magazines about property, cars, home improvement, and awful local music’. They wanted to make something that respected the intelligence of its readers, and in the process prove that free magazines needn’t be rubbish. Judging from this issue (the fourteenth), they’ve more than proved that.
September 16, 2010
Before and after
Magazine stores
Magazines
Newspapers
Online publishing
The Big iPhone
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David Hepworth describes the first months with an iPad, suggests it’s not good for pictures. Read comments too.
The Spectator has been redesigned by Kuchar Swara.
More on the end of browsing in magazine stores – Jean reports from Japan.
New York: SPD have a great line up for their Paper to Pixels iPad discussion on September 22. Creatives from Time, Glamour and Popular Mechanics join consultant Joe Zeff and chair Josh Klenart.
Rumours persist that Rupert Murdoch’s News International will soon launch standalone newspaper apps.
Condé Nast affirms it place alongside News International as the main cheerleaders for editorial iPad apps, announcing November launches for UK Wired and UK Vogue. Wired is being developed by the print team while Vogue has been outsourced to SIXcreative. CN managing director Nicholas Coleridge believes app sales could account for 40% of the company’s sales by 2025.
Apple are rumoured to be planning a subscription service for online newspaper apps.
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London’s Evening Standard discovers independent magazines, namechecks Stack, Magzero and, shucks, magCulture.
Tyler Brulé declares people ‘Wallpaper isn’t my magazine anymore, but a lot of people still think it is.’ in this typically forthright interview for the Daily Front Row.
‘The easiest way to stop digital magazines sucking is to avoid publishing replicas’
An online archive of music magazine Q covers.
magCulture now has a Pinterest board. See loads of front covers. Check Michael’s too,
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The problems of buying/enjoying magazines vs the industrial distribution system. A must-read piece from Michael at LineFeed.
ASME announce this years shortlists for twelve categories for the best front covers of the year. Includes the vital ‘Best Vampire’ selection. It’s a public vote via Amazon.
The latest release from Preston is My Paris: ‘Thank you for travelling with Northern Rail’.
The Guardian’s obituary for Raymond Hawkey, sixties/seventies editorial design hero. Len Dieghton’s book covers, The Daily Express (it mattered once) and The Observer.
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Another indie gaming magazine is on the way: hello Controller.
UK Supermarket chain Tesco are planning their own series of magazine launches, starting in October with a food title and an interiors one.
Patsy Kensit as guest editor at She will surely have been an easier collaborator than Wallpaper*’s Chapman Bros.
Attitude publisher buys failing men’s title Loaded from IPC. An interesting combination.
Idea Books, sellers of rare magazines and art books, have a pop-up shop at the St. Martins Lane Hotel, London, until September 15.
Next Stack
The upcoming Stack independent magazine subscription mail-out features the biannual photography title 8 Magazine. An issue costs £20 – while a six month subscription to Stack costs just £24. Details here.
Clarification: 8 Magazine is not the immediate next delivery from Stack, but is due soon.
Universal News
A quick visit to a branch of New York’s Universal News reminded me how serious a loss is Borders to the UK. Universal News has ten stores on Manhatten, all of which are packed with publications from all areas of publishing. I picked up copies of some of the magazines I saw while judging for SPD, a load of mainstream Americana such as People, Us, More and the tiny but perfect Everyday Food from Martha Stewart. The wonderful thing was that alongside these on the shelves were more obscure magCulture favourites like 032c, Fantastic Man and Elephant. Just like the UK branches of Borders used to do.
The business of magazine retail
Sahil from New Zealand–Australian magazine store MagNation explains how he set up the business. It’s a long piece of audio but well worth a listen in terms of business and brand. Plus he talks it well.
‘Our major competitor is sex… I’m in the market for your marginal minute’.
