In the design press

A couple of magazine-related pieces appear this month in the UK design press. First up, Grafik has a diary from London Fashion Week written by Jenny Dyson and her team behind the Daily Rubbish. This 8-page newsletter was published every day during the six-day long event, written on site at the shows and designed at the offices of London agency Harriman-Steel. Not a great insight into the process but good to see this small-scale project getting recognition. The Daily Rubbish was an extension of Dyson’s lovely Rubbish Magazine, as featured here previously. Also worth noting Grafik has treated itself to a slight redesign under new designer Danny Calvi. More to come, I hope (like, how about dropping the Avant Garde?)

Creative Review also has a new designer in charge, Paul Pensom (late of Getty's deceased Edit magazine), but no design changes I'm aware of yet. The latest issue is all about work in progress, and one of the projects featured is the commissioning of a front cover image for an issue of New York Times property magazine Key. Art director Dirk Barnett explains the process of working with John Maeda as he works up his idea; you might expect someone of Maeda’s stature to be a tough person to work with but he comes out exactly the opposite. Anyone working in magazines will recognise the back-and-forth process involved; and the end result is beautiful. The magazine has a simple cover concept; each issue features an interpretation of an image of a key, and Maeda’s is typically system-based, using flight paths from his home city, Boston. Knowing Maeda’s love of colour it’s surprising to see the rather dully-coloured initial versions, but the final work, above, is very colourful. I hope to feature more of the Key cover designs here soon.