Real Review #2
Straight off the back of winning Launch of the Year in the Stack Awards earlier this week, Real Review is back with issue two.
The strengths of the magazine are evident again; the square format folded vertically in half remains the unique and gloriously simple core of its identity; the design takes full advantage of the resulting four-page spreads to calmly express the intelligent nature of the project; and the content absolutely lives up to the promise of that visual expression.
Indeed, the precision of the writing finds a perfect foil in the format – the easily opened and folded lightweight paper, the gentle variations in font size and column widths and economic use of images together add just enough excitement, or fun even, to encourage the reader to engage with what is often relatively heavyweight material.
The issue covers a wide range of subjects. The difference between ‘home’ and ‘house’ is considered from an architectural point of view; editor Jack Self reflects on his experience of the year 2011 as the 1968 of his generation; the story of East German architectural practice is outlined in great detail, illustrated with cartoons from popular USSR magazine Krokodil.
If that all sounds very heavy, it is presented with an air of such convincing and open simplicity that you’ll find it far more accessible than a more traditional academic review might render it. That’s the beauty of Real Review: it simplifies the complicated.
Editor-in-chief: Jack Self
Creative direction: OK-RM