News from the Magosphere 7th August ’09

Nine things I learnt about magazines from blogging
“The magazines we love are so important to us, they make us feel guilty to consider throwing them away” – reminds me of Commandment #7; there were nine of those too

New ideas for magazine kiosks
They all seem to lack browsing space, the biggest single factor imho behind strong magazine brand loyalty in certain countries

The three biggest reasons music magazines are dying
I’d add to the list ‘trying to be too many things, for too many people’ – cult indie mags like The Wire seem to be doing ok

How onlab got the job designing Domus
My latest piece for The Wall Street Journal (read it while it’s free). Also a good excuse to link to their astonishing piece of inventive design from the March issue, their ‘musical score’ redesign and their visual reinterpretation of each issue’s content. I like how these boys think; if there’s interest, I can post more highlights from the interview

Ten minutes with the President
Behind the scenes from Businessweek photographer; they chose a great cover shot, too

Another behind the scenes
This time from Psychology Today. Scribbling on someone has been done to death, though it’s fun to see the intern with marker pen all over her face in the test shots. I also especially like the playful use of type orientation in the design of the ‘misbehaving’ piece

Vibe subscriber sues over missing issue
I did say it was a bit harsh

In defence of tobacco advertising
Because healthy lungs kills magazines

The story behind Iran’s longest running film magazine
Publishing challenges we can’t imagine

“My eyes are starving for beauty”
Vogue-themed ringtones now available