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Review: Carson

April 28, 2011 in New launches, Opinion, Review | 29 comments

There are a few, remarkable people who show us that there’s another way.

They take the tools from our hands, and do amazing things with them that we could never have contemplated. Where we see unbreakable rules, they see uninteresting choices. The results leave some people so affected that they never again look at their tools in the same way.

These people generally fall into three categories. First, there are those who were so far ahead of society’s ability to comprehend their efforts that their work is only “discovered” and lauded after their deaths. Kafka was one. Van Gogh another.

Second are those who break established rules again and again to increasing acclaim, yet always stay ahead of their imitators simply because they don’t know of any other way to behave. Picasso, let’s say. Radiohead, perhaps.

And then there are those people who have a single flash of genius at the very moment that society’s mirrors are perfectly aligned to catch its light. Though the rest of their work may be perfectly competent, everyone clamors for the lightening to strike again and again. It’s not these people’s fault that they can’t replicate that moment.

Given the title of this piece, you can probably see where I’m going with this one.

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Stranded takes off

September 13, 2010 in Clever ideas, New launches, Personal promotion, Stranded magazine | 19 comments

A few months ago, when a volcano erupted and I was stuck in Dublin, I said this:

This is an open call to designers, writers, photographers, illustrators, art directors and anyone else who is stranded by the ash cloud, and would like something to do.

If there’s one thing my ol’ ma taught me, it’s that when life gives you volcanoes, make magazines. And so we shall.

I’m nothing if not a man of my word, thus Stranded magazine is now on sale. The concept, commissioning and editing are all me; the design is all Matt McArthur, who was stranded in New York. We’ve yet to meet or even speak on the phone, but we worked together marvellously thanks to the wonders of modern gin communication.

As for the words and images.. they’re courtesy of more than fifty fantastically talented people I’ve never met, all of whom were similarly stuck and mercifully, I presume, as bored as I was in trying not to spend any money while stuck somewhere unexpected. They fulfilled commissions, they answered surveys, they ordered cocktails and they took photographs of their temporary beds. In a few cases, they caught their flights before they could complete their briefs – and I’ve included some of those too.

What we’ve made of it all is an 88-page souvenir of a moment in time when a non-life-threatening crisis hit the world, one for which nobody was to blame, and nobody knew how long it would last. People scrambled to find alternative routes home, any way, any how, or tried to make the best of wherever fate had placed them. It was a moment of unplanned disruption, never to be repeated in quite the same way.

The perfect subject for a magazine, in fact.

The print edition is on sale now, and ships worldwide. It costs $18.95+shipping – which is the base price charged by MagCloud (including a discount for being a charity mag and including their ad on the back page – much appreciated guys) plus $5 on top, all of which goes directly to the PayPal account of the International Rescue Committee, to help those more permanently stranded around the world. A digital edition is in the works, though it’s primarily been designed for paper and ink.

We’re inordinately proud of the whole thing, so why not pick up a copy or two? (Twenty or more gets a 25% discount, you know)

And please help us spread the word. We want to raise as much money as we can for the IRC – and hey, it’s a great magazine too. Everyone should own a copy, in case of eruptions.

Questions? Ask me here.

Not that kind of wedding

March 12, 2010 in Clever ideas, Trend | 2 comments

Der Wedding is an annual magazine about an everyday Berlin suburb. It’s also a conscious antidote to the trendy, hipster side of the city.

Just as Karen is “made out of the ordinary”, Der Wedding is, according to German magazine gurus GuteSeiten, “dedicated to the topics, events, items of everyday life and small stories that can be found right on the doorstep.”

It’s also rather lovingly designed too – images here borrowed from GuteSeiten, who have more on their site, as do Slanted.

Though I don’t speak German, it looks like a keeper.

UPDATE: GuteSeiten just gave Der Wedding their inaugural ‘mag of the year’ award at a pop-up magazine event in Berlin.

Monkey suit

August 13, 2009 in Magazine covers, New launches | No comments

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New Scandiwegian architecture/urbanism magazine Conditions looks rather lovely – a graphical cross between icon and Frame, perhaps – no bad thing. (Bonus link: icon this month features a grumpy cover by a graphic design hero – first Brody, now Jasper Morrison; old people today, no respect for print, I tells ya.)

Looks like there are some interesting infographics in there, too. Conditions does have a good name, and I’m looking forward to seeing a copy – but its launch cover reminds me more than a little of Loops. Space helmets are clearly in right now.

Living up to the memory

August 5, 2009 in Magazine covers | No comments

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While we wait for the inevitable Novum piece by Horst Moser, this cover from Brazilian newsweekly Época is for me the only Jackson-themed cover that almost captures what’s gone.
(Via)

They Make Magazines

March 9, 2009 in Colophon | No comments


As Colophon nears, some news about a couple of thems that will be there:

Horst Moser has many alter-egos – owner of the world’s biggest magazine collection, author of essential-purchase Surprise Me!, founder of the studio Independent Medien Design – and he will be presenting his new publications cut and Schrift. He’s also known for his monthly one-page magazine cover compilations in Novum, made up of themed selections from his collection. I particularly liked this recent offering, featuring the one publicity shot of Madonna her people made available (scroll down).

As Jeremy has noted, there’ll be a new Karen there.

Acido Surtido is looking for new contributors. Its founder, Lucas, will be blogging the event in Spanish over at Visualmente.

And, like many magazines, Good has reduced its frequency, from bimonthly to quarterly in their case, to cope with the fall in ad revenue. Unlike other magazines, they announced their move in a special, very cute mini-sized, subscriber-only Recession Issue (cover line: “Now at least 80% less!”), which introduces their own special “Recession Alert” coding system, and opens with the words “Hello dearest.”

Much more to come…

Ultimately frisbee

February 23, 2009 in Clever ideas, New launches | 1 comment

freestyle_cover

A strange format can focus the mind wonderfully. Kilimanjaro has to be designed around its unusual size, as does iLove. Timothy McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern is regularly rethought depending on the demands of each issue’s format, as is the Colophon-selected La Más Bella. In fact, regular readers will know that I curated an entire exhibition about such object lessons in strange formats, so it’s hardly surprising that I’m looking forward to spinning a copy of Freestyle, the forthcoming design / lifestyle magazine designed to fit inside a frisbee. Y’know, for grown-up kids.

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