Ten things #5: A selection of lovely magazines

Ten Things is a collection of magazines, thoughts and ephemera that have been sitting on my desk for a few months while I caught up with deadlines

Much praised elsewhere, there’s not much to add about the marvellous Kasino annual, other than its a lovely size and format, and contains all the dry wit and thoughtful quirkiness of their previous publication Kasino A4.

The only difference is its size, the lack of monochrome layouts, and the ability to keep selling the same issue over a year while they work on more lucrative things.

My favouritist thing of all is how they use the see-thru nature of their paper to showcase important quotes related to the issue’s theme of Hair.

It’s really hard to photograph the result, but trust me, it works really well. Copies are available from MagCulture.com.

Gym Class is always a great read for anyone interested in magazine design, so it almost seems superfluous that it’s most recent edition is the Magazine Fanboy edition. (Disclosure: A discussion between me and Boico appeared in a previous issue, I translated the Spanish Esquire interview in this issue, and am working on a piece for a forthcoming edition. Actually best get on with that – sorry Steven.)

It’s the first glossy issue, and contains a elements of more conventional mags, with short pieces at the front, and some new regular sections, including a guide to trendy city spots. Sometimes they work, other times they feel a little too conventional, without the distinctiveness that makes Gym Class so refreshing.

It’s still a great read for mag fans. This double spread of Spanish Esquire covers is great.

Next up… no, it’s not Perfect magazine, but the new edition of the annual magazine Future Exhibitions. I reviewed the first issue here..

The cover of this one is actually white varnish on white, which reveals itself when held to the light at the right angle (or, it seems, threaten to feed it to the air conditioner).

I haven’t finished reading this issue yet, but so far it seems to suffer from some of the same problems as issue one – a semi-academic tone without an accessible structure to match its format/design – but there’s still plenty for museum thinkers to find useful, along with some lovely full-bleed images.

I was recently invited to speak at Sofia Design Week by ONE magazine. Their mag, which had just published its first bilingual Bulgarian/English edition, is worth picking up (disclosure: I’m in it).

An intelligent culture/arts magazine, its design is sophisticated without being off-putting.

However, I just heard that their editor and art director have been ousted for financial/internal political reasons, so it remains to be seen if it will continue along similar lines.

Closer to (my) home, Stack America continues to stride forward like an independent magazine-loving behemoth (but, you know, in a nice way). The latest mailing contains two publications that I highly recommend you track down.

First, the unconventionally wide Embrocation, the latest in a series of great independent mags themed around cycling.

Created by the unreasonably talented Jeremy Dunn, its a visual treat. The editorial runs a little loose at times, but its never less than charming.

The other mag I was delighted to include in the latest Stack America mailing (have I mentioned Stack America enough yet?) is Put A Egg On It. Created by the ever-precocious (but, you know, in a nice way) talents of Ralph McGinnis and Sarah Keogh, it’s just great.

Printed on green-tinted paper, with a gorgeous inky smell, it’s a veritable showcase of best of what zines can do: thoughtful, witty, surprising and varied, with engaging text that ranges from recipes to insider tales of bad-ass Brooklyn chefs. And, as we’d expect from R&S, it’s really well designed and photographed.

The green tint gives a strange nostalgic feel to many of the images. It’s not the best way to make food look appetising, but this isn’t about food itself, as much as people who eat. Its first issue intrigued me, but this time I definitely got it, and am hungry for more. As a side note, it was funded in part through Kickstarter.

My personal linguistic limitations mean that I can’t get the most out of Fotos Für Die Pressefreiheit 2010 (did I say that right?)

Despite not having a clue what it’s going on about, I’m still admiring of onlab’s tight, sober design and photoediting for this German photojournalism annual.

If you’ve read this far, then you’re probably the kind of person who enjoys this visual of Iranian magazine censorship.

It’s also printed on gorgeous, thick matt stock.

Before there was Odd, there was Mint. The annual showcase of Amsterdam’s AMFI fashion institute, the new name doesn’t cover up the same problems as always: the need to showcase everyone’s work equally makes for a publication without much narrative drama.

But it probably is what it has to be, and there’s some nicely designed interviews about the fashion industry with modish luminaries, each connected to the next, put alongside decent-quality student work.

A second magazine, which comes free with the main mag, features profiles of the graduating class of 2010.

Finally, a guidebook. As someone with previous form in creating unusual guidebooks, I was always going to be won over by Beyroutes, a distinctive guide to Beirut through its people and places.

Created by a local NGO/thinktank, and initiated/published by Archis, it’s not so much a pure guidebook as a location-specific publication themed around the Lebanese capital, containing documentary and instruction in equal measure.

It’s an invigorating, fascinating read, even if you have no intention of visiting the place (as for me, I can’t wait to go now).

The book is both published as a standalone title and also included free with issue 22 of innovative Archis stalwart Volume. Copies are available here.

Archis claims it’s the first in a series called “Never Walk Alonely Planet”. That might just be a gag, but I fervently hope not.

And finally, I can see my desk again. From now on, I’ll try to keep a tighter rein on things, promise.