magRush2013: Flow #1

I remember first seeing Flow in Amsterdam; it’s originally a Dutch magazine, and is notable for the positioning of its logo on the front cover (floating in the centre of the page) and the production tricks used throughout each issue. I had no idea what it was really about, though.

With the recent launch of this English-language edition it’s suddenly clear what Flow is about; it’s about paper. As such it aligns itself neatly with the whole arts and crafts Etsy thing that’s been going on for the last few years.

It’s really tricky to do this magazine justice in photographs – it’s all about the varied paper stocks and inserts, things like this tipped in wrapping paper, one side designed by Angela Dalinger, the other by Catherina Turk (above). There’s also this tipped in notebook (below) designed by Japanese handicraft fanatic Papakaori.

To be honest this really isn’t my type of editorial design. It’s too cluttered, despite some lovely elements and strong illustration (I gravitate more naturally toward The Modernist as featured here a few magRush posts ago). Despite this, Flow is a great celebration of all things paper and print, and like Canadian magazine Uppercase, I’m glad it’s there even if I don’t wholeheartedly love it.