Upcoming events
Some editorial events for your diary.
First up, I’m taking part in a discussion about iPad magazine apps with the BSME in London on July 29. Details to follow.
Later in the year, the APA Content Summit on November 24 sounds like a must-see. Check the programme here. UPDATE: I’ve just been added to the line up on this.
Finally, I may have already mentioned this, but Dublin’s Offset2010 features George Lois, Scott Dadich and Steven Heller. And David Carson might turn up too.
200% #4
200% is a magazine that has intrigued me for a while now. Written, designed and published by one guy, Thierry Somers, it covers art, design, music and fashion with a rather serious tone. In another person’s hands this might have become the ultimate vanity project, but Somers gets access to some great people and does it all rather well. My only criticism would be that some of the writing could be edited to focus the content more tightly – reading texts it’s sometimes unclear who he’s writing for.
Playboy Portugal
The Portugese edition of Playboy has been closed down following the publication of the above cover. Did they have a death wish?
Out now: Elle Collections
The new issue of Elle Collections is out this week, featuring this feat of picture research on its front cover.
Vinyl + print
This is just a beautifully simple, elegant idea. Underwood is a new bi-annual project publishing a 12″ vinyl record featuring a short story on each side and an illustrated sleeve. This first edition has stories written and read by Toby Litt and Clare Wigfall packaged in a gatefold sleeve illustrated by Jordan Crane.
Overmatter
Let’s hope Microsoft’s attempt to patent the page-turn effect brings an end to that particular visual metaphor.
The ResonanceFM radio discussion about the iPad I did with Patrick Burgoyne and Adrain Shaughnessy is now available online. Click on the headphone icon to see list of audio tracks.
The latest Stack mailing included the pilot of new videogames mag Invert Look from the Little White Lies/Huck team. Andrew provides a brief history of indie gaming titles.
V magazine does what Love didn’t quite manage – scratch off the logo to see the nipples.
Typo Mag
Looks interesting… coming your way soon, a book about magazine typography. It‘s published by Index Books but I can’t see it on their site. More when I see a copy (link corrected).
Quiet-ish week
A bit of a quiet week on the blog but a busy work week, including a trip to Barcelona to talk at an event hosted by local customer publisher BPMO (that’s me with a Wired cover above). As always with such events, the preparation helps me remember key points about the day job, in this case just how exciting print design is right now. Sure, the iPad is pushing digital forward, but at the same time there are many wonderful examples of print design. That was one strand of my talk.
This was further reinforced on my return to find a pile of great magazines waiting for me in the post. There has been so much stuff arriving recently, and I’m very aware that many publications are getting overlooked despite being worthy of attention. The point is, though, it’s great so many new projects are still being launched.
I intend to catch up over the next few weeks before August and holiday time. Stand by for a bit of a rush here.
(thanks to Barbara for the photo)
Wallpaper* DIY covers
Wallpaper*’s DIY front covers have been arriving with their creators this week (that’s mine, above). Each custom-built cover was printed as a one-off digital print and bound to the issue instead of the newsstand version. It turns out the one compulsory piece of content, the ’Handmade Issue’ label, was a space-holder for what became the address label for each individual participant. The magazine arrives with a sticker to apply over the address.
It was a great idea, a clever use of technology with a limited but flexible series of choices that have led to some very varied designs (there’s a gallery of the covers here). The only gripe is that on my issue the paper is curling up a bit. A result of the digital printing?
UPDATE: Some other Wallpaper* handmade covers:
Overmatter
The Independent highlights a new tranche of literary magazines, including Popshot and The Drawbridge.
032c present a complete zoomable history of Steven Meisel’s covers for Italian Vogue (as originally featured in issue 16 of the magazine).
MagMonday has a link to a set of Eric Drooker’s illustrated covers for the New Yorker.
Photoshop alert: this Economist cover isn’t quite so compelling when you see the whole shot from which it was, errr, ‘selected’.
