I previously analysed Soko Magazine, Pilot Magazine and Idn magazine to test their alignment to the definition of Stylepress. The purpose of the following analysis is not to define whether a magazine sits within stylepress, but to explore format, define it's usefulness in stylepress and inspire ideas for my own stylepress project.
Is Not Magazine
"among other things, an experiment in publishing real content where people expect to find advertising. It’s a design challenge and a reading experiment; a paper saving device; a bastion of editorial complexity and a grey area for the discerning communal reader."
Size: 1500mm x 2000mm
Format: Printed, poster
Regularity: Irregular
Issues: 11
Still in print: No
Online representation: Website with blog and short wrap up of topics covered in various issues.
Advantages:
- Easily accesible content
- Saves paper and printing costs.
- Encourages not only individual reader participation but community participation
- Challenges current ideas of a magazine.
- Still can be sold as a 'takeaway' magazine to become a treasured object.
Disadvantages:
- Open to damage or theft from public space.
- Unable to be easily flicked through or read
- Does not engage the user in the third dimension of the printed object.
McSweeneys, Issue 16
"Each issue of the quarterly is completely redesigned. There have been hardcovers and paperbacks, an issue with two spines, an issue with a magnetic binding, an issue that looked like a bundle of junk mail, and an issue that looked like a sweaty human head."
Size: 227mm x 150mm
Format: Printed, three fold hardcover book with a story printed on cards and hair comb.
Regularity: Quarterly
Issues: 40
Still in print: Yes
Online representation: Extensive website with store and summary of each physical issue
Advantages:
(General)
- A constantly shifting format continues to challenge (even regular) readers every issue
- As a literary journal, the format reflects the subject matter well, challenging an audience that are ready to recieve these left-field format ideas and also relating to the issue of sustaining print (an issue relevant to writers as well as designers)
(Issue 16)
- The three fold method encourages further interaction beyond the typical page-by-page flip and offers multiple avenues for exploration.
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Narrowing Definition
Trying to compile my findings thus far in one place. Most of my research seems to be confirming the same things thus far unfortunately.
Based on the defining features identified by others and repetitive themes in my research, I've made my own set of defining philosophies for Stylepress. After writing them I realized they are essentially Renards factors but slightly reworded and prioritized. Below are what research has lead me to believe is the result of these philosophies. Number 4 is part defining factor, part derivative of factors 1, 2 and 3. As with Renards factors not all of them need to be present to be defined as part of the Stylepress although in my opinion it is essential to have one of the leading two factors featuring prominently.
Primary Factors
1. Driven by the creators desire to realize their vision.
2. Experimental or unconventional approaches aesthetic and format.
Almost Primary (not quite secondary) Factors
3. Focuses on user experience and timeless content.
4. Exists in a bubble separate to mainstream media
Derivatives:- Inevitably Becomes a personal manifesto of the creator/team, declaring their tastes, philosophies, interest and ideas. (1)
- Becomes inspirational to the viewer. (1, 2, 3)
- Often realized in a physical form. (1, 2, 3, 4)
- Recontextualizes the magazine as an art object rather than news media. (2, 3, 4)
- Can talk directly to niche groups such as graphic designers. (4)
What it means for my project:
1. The perfect vessel to declare a position on current graphic design issues.
2. Ideal oppurtunity to experiment with new ideas and formats unrestricted by current audience requirements.
3. Allows the oppurtunity for a stylepress magazine to set a 'standard' for creative practice by (2.) inspiring the decisions of the reader to (4.) influence their creative practice.
Based on the defining features identified by others and repetitive themes in my research, I've made my own set of defining philosophies for Stylepress. After writing them I realized they are essentially Renards factors but slightly reworded and prioritized. Below are what research has lead me to believe is the result of these philosophies. Number 4 is part defining factor, part derivative of factors 1, 2 and 3. As with Renards factors not all of them need to be present to be defined as part of the Stylepress although in my opinion it is essential to have one of the leading two factors featuring prominently.
Primary Factors
1. Driven by the creators desire to realize their vision.
2. Experimental or unconventional approaches aesthetic and format.
Almost Primary (not quite secondary) Factors
3. Focuses on user experience and timeless content.
4. Exists in a bubble separate to mainstream media
Derivatives:- Inevitably Becomes a personal manifesto of the creator/team, declaring their tastes, philosophies, interest and ideas. (1)
- Becomes inspirational to the viewer. (1, 2, 3)
- Often realized in a physical form. (1, 2, 3, 4)
- Recontextualizes the magazine as an art object rather than news media. (2, 3, 4)
- Can talk directly to niche groups such as graphic designers. (4)
What it means for my project:
1. The perfect vessel to declare a position on current graphic design issues.
2. Ideal oppurtunity to experiment with new ideas and formats unrestricted by current audience requirements.
3. Allows the oppurtunity for a stylepress magazine to set a 'standard' for creative practice by (2.) inspiring the decisions of the reader to (4.) influence their creative practice.
Further refining CP
Trying to refine my central proposition to go beyond just web and print relationships, I want to explore through graphic design how to engage the reader in the experience of the magazine without tying it down to any specific format
Key Points to Summarize
- Engaging format
- New Ideas
- Stylepress as an experimental design space
- Inspire others/Act as manifesto
Original
How can communication design principles be applied to stylepress magazines to exploit the advantages of online content while retaining the tactile experience of a physical magazine?
1. How can the experimental nature of stylepress magazines be used to inspire creativity while exploring new relationships between print and online content?
2. How can stylepress magazines be used as an experimental design space to explore new ideas in relation to how audiences engage with different formats?
3. If Stylepress magazines were used as an experimental space to explore the advantages of digital and physical formats, the resulting outcome could act as a manifesto declaring a specific position or announcing new approaches to the topic.
Key Points to Summarize
- Engaging format
- New Ideas
- Stylepress as an experimental design space
- Inspire others/Act as manifesto
Original
How can communication design principles be applied to stylepress magazines to exploit the advantages of online content while retaining the tactile experience of a physical magazine?
1. How can the experimental nature of stylepress magazines be used to inspire creativity while exploring new relationships between print and online content?
2. How can stylepress magazines be used as an experimental design space to explore new ideas in relation to how audiences engage with different formats?
3. If Stylepress magazines were used as an experimental space to explore the advantages of digital and physical formats, the resulting outcome could act as a manifesto declaring a specific position or announcing new approaches to the topic.
Articles I've been reading
Mostly posting them for future reference
Art Manifestos and their applications in contemporary design.
Article about how material produced by designers defines them right down to client communication. Interesting in relation to the self-indulgent and inspirational qualities of stylepress. If done properly a stylepress magazine exploring format could become an inspirational manifesto declaring a specific position on format and reader experience.
Unit Editions
A publishing venture involving Adrian Shaugnessy from Mute magazine. Though not defined as a magazine, this venture aligns heavily with stylepress philosophies and in my opinion can be viewed as a type of Stylepress magazine. Interesting in relation to pushing the definition of what a magazine could be, blurring the line between magazine, publishing company and the graphic designer as artist (works created to be sold for their design qualities).
Mostly posting them for future reference
Art Manifestos and their applications in contemporary design.
Article about how material produced by designers defines them right down to client communication. Interesting in relation to the self-indulgent and inspirational qualities of stylepress. If done properly a stylepress magazine exploring format could become an inspirational manifesto declaring a specific position on format and reader experience.
Unit Editions
A publishing venture involving Adrian Shaugnessy from Mute magazine. Though not defined as a magazine, this venture aligns heavily with stylepress philosophies and in my opinion can be viewed as a type of Stylepress magazine. Interesting in relation to pushing the definition of what a magazine could be, blurring the line between magazine, publishing company and the graphic designer as artist (works created to be sold for their design qualities).
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Idea: Inspiration Zine
Send around a journal and get creative practitioners to add something to one page (e.g illustration, collage) and publish it into a zine of collective inspiration. Aligning with stylepress philosophy but going beyond the inspiration of a single editor/creator while taking on the creation role myself to help understand the creative process of a magazine.
Monday, 23 April 2012
A wild blogpost appears.
To be honest I started reading this blog post by Al Tepper because I thought the name (Gutenberg, Berners-Lee, Aristotle, McLuhan, Chomsky, Rubel & Zappa's Eyebrows all walk into a blog post...) was quite funny. But after reading into it a bit I found his opinions very interesting. His view on the internet as a return to an oral tradition (through social networking etc) and as the fall of the "gatekeepers of information" seems to fit very well with the definition of stylepress and lends me to the idea of perhaps, crowd sourcing the content for a stylepress magazine, so that rather than the editor/creator being the inspirational force, the magazine becomes a representation of the collective inspiration of many similar to websites such as designspiration and ffffound. This also becomes a two way relationship between consumer and creator, something not currently seen in stylepress. This could also be a good way of exploring the relationship between stylepress and the internet, forging new connections between the printed book and online material.
Interview - Renard & Frost
Awesome interviews with David Renard and Vince Frost, expanding on some of the concepts talked about in The Last Magazine. Renard more clearly states the four key differentiating factors of stylepress magazines:
Physicality
Unusual Design
Provocative & Timeless Content
Dedication to particular groups
Renard states that he chose the examples that fill his book mostly from his personal collection, but said they had to meet at least 2 of the aforementioned criteria to qualify. All of these 4 aspects of stylepress are at the whim of the editor/creator as described in previous posts.
Awesome interviews with David Renard and Vince Frost, expanding on some of the concepts talked about in The Last Magazine. Renard more clearly states the four key differentiating factors of stylepress magazines:
Physicality
Unusual Design
Provocative & Timeless Content
Dedication to particular groups
Renard states that he chose the examples that fill his book mostly from his personal collection, but said they had to meet at least 2 of the aforementioned criteria to qualify. All of these 4 aspects of stylepress are at the whim of the editor/creator as described in previous posts.
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Stylepress, the contemporary manifesto?
"Either you create the product the market expects, or you make the magazine that you believe needs to be made, for you and you only." Angelo Crimele, creator of Magazine
"We were ambitious arrogant and idealistic about the content and the way we were putting it out as a magazine" Rankin, co-creator of Dazed & Confused
It allowed me freedom with the layouts. It taught me a great deal about the subtle relationship between the designer and the 'artist'." Damian Jaques, Art director/Co-founder of Coil.
"This is a chance to enjoy their shared indulgence for large format imagery, and obsessive typography." EndemicWorld.com on Studio magazine.
"Make something you love, not something you think people need." Andy Pickering, Pilot editor.
"Mainly created with the objective of having our own space to play with." Pogo on Soko zine.
"They are not published to cater to focused demographics or marketing whims but because their publisher, editors, designers, photographers and artists are compelled to satisfy their own desires and inspire others." Steven Heller, Art director of New York Times Book Review.
From all my research, the most repeating theme seems to be the tendency of stylepress magazines to be driven by the creators desire to make something for themselves that becomes filled with their ideas and enthusiasm. The idea of filling a document with the ideas and interests of one group reminded me of the early modernist manifestos and how they reflected a lot of similar ideas to the stylepress in the way they presented their content and opposed the mainstream view. By being filled with the creators ideas and interests, the stylepress magazine becomes a kind of manifesto of the creator(s), expressing and publishing their style, philosophy, interests and ideas in one piece. I found a section in The Last Magazine where Steven Heller draws the same comparison, saying that independent magazines have always been tied to creators searching for "their own publishing nirvana". Heller uses the magazines and manifestos of futurism, dada and surrealism as the beginning of his chapter on twentieth century alternative publishing, leading up to the stylepress.
I'm really interested in stylepress magazines as an experimental space for the designer, where new ideas can be generated. The early modernist manifestos and magazines reviewed by Heller shared the experimental ideas and emphasis on personal philosophy of the stylepress, and they made a huge impact on art, design and culture. The futurist and dada type layouts sought to emphasize content in a way not previously seen, attempting to solve something they had deemed to be an issue of their time. If the experimental and inspirational qualities of the stylepress were used as a framework to experiment with ideas relating to print and online media (an issue of our time), perhaps new solutions could be generated, that may influence how other areas of design approach print and online media.
"We were ambitious arrogant and idealistic about the content and the way we were putting it out as a magazine" Rankin, co-creator of Dazed & Confused
It allowed me freedom with the layouts. It taught me a great deal about the subtle relationship between the designer and the 'artist'." Damian Jaques, Art director/Co-founder of Coil.
"This is a chance to enjoy their shared indulgence for large format imagery, and obsessive typography." EndemicWorld.com on Studio magazine.
"Make something you love, not something you think people need." Andy Pickering, Pilot editor.
"Mainly created with the objective of having our own space to play with." Pogo on Soko zine.
"They are not published to cater to focused demographics or marketing whims but because their publisher, editors, designers, photographers and artists are compelled to satisfy their own desires and inspire others." Steven Heller, Art director of New York Times Book Review.
From all my research, the most repeating theme seems to be the tendency of stylepress magazines to be driven by the creators desire to make something for themselves that becomes filled with their ideas and enthusiasm. The idea of filling a document with the ideas and interests of one group reminded me of the early modernist manifestos and how they reflected a lot of similar ideas to the stylepress in the way they presented their content and opposed the mainstream view. By being filled with the creators ideas and interests, the stylepress magazine becomes a kind of manifesto of the creator(s), expressing and publishing their style, philosophy, interests and ideas in one piece. I found a section in The Last Magazine where Steven Heller draws the same comparison, saying that independent magazines have always been tied to creators searching for "their own publishing nirvana". Heller uses the magazines and manifestos of futurism, dada and surrealism as the beginning of his chapter on twentieth century alternative publishing, leading up to the stylepress.
I'm really interested in stylepress magazines as an experimental space for the designer, where new ideas can be generated. The early modernist manifestos and magazines reviewed by Heller shared the experimental ideas and emphasis on personal philosophy of the stylepress, and they made a huge impact on art, design and culture. The futurist and dada type layouts sought to emphasize content in a way not previously seen, attempting to solve something they had deemed to be an issue of their time. If the experimental and inspirational qualities of the stylepress were used as a framework to experiment with ideas relating to print and online media (an issue of our time), perhaps new solutions could be generated, that may influence how other areas of design approach print and online media.
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Further Revising CP/Abstract
CP:
If the relationship between print and online content was explored in the context of stylepress magazines, new approaches could be developed that would be relevant to many areas of design.
Abstract:
If the relationship between print and online content was explored in the context of stylepress magazines, new approaches could be developed that would be relevant to many areas of design.
Abstract:
"Magazines as we know them are dying", is
the opening line of David Renards 2006 book The Last Magazine. This opinion
seems mirrored not only by other writers but by magazine publishers who
continue to shift the emphasis to online and smart device content. However
Renard offers one last hope for printed magazines, explorative pieces of
indulgent design, valued for their high quality physical form and inspirational
ideas held within.
Self-indulgent creators who are more interested in realizing their own “publishing nirvana” than creating something to meet market demands, Renard says, drive the stylepress. The resulting magazine becomes more a piece of fine art, exploring innovative ideas in design, the designer free to explore as an 'editorial artist'. By exploring new ideas and challenging the norm, the magazine becomes inspirational for the reader and has value as an object above the value of it's content.
The unique challenges and unrestricted nature of the stylepress creative process lend itself to be the ideal place to explore the relationship between online and printed content, to create innovative new strategies that could influence thinking in other areas of design.
Self-indulgent creators who are more interested in realizing their own “publishing nirvana” than creating something to meet market demands, Renard says, drive the stylepress. The resulting magazine becomes more a piece of fine art, exploring innovative ideas in design, the designer free to explore as an 'editorial artist'. By exploring new ideas and challenging the norm, the magazine becomes inspirational for the reader and has value as an object above the value of it's content.
The unique challenges and unrestricted nature of the stylepress creative process lend itself to be the ideal place to explore the relationship between online and printed content, to create innovative new strategies that could influence thinking in other areas of design.
Reformat.no
Reformat Home
Reformat Editors Letter
Browsing this website has made me realize that my research is not just applicable to stylepress magazines, but could be applied in a number of situations. The nature of stylepress as a self-expression of the design team, allows a restriction free space to explore innovative ideas. The ideas that fill the pages of the stylepress inspire others and influence their ideas, in this way the stylepress is an experimentation ground for trends in the design of branding, web, print, fashion and other areas.
The relationship between print content and online content is at an important stage of its development and using the stylepress as an experimental playground, new ideas can be explored about this relationship that could effect many other areas of design in the future.
Reformat Editors Letter
Browsing this website has made me realize that my research is not just applicable to stylepress magazines, but could be applied in a number of situations. The nature of stylepress as a self-expression of the design team, allows a restriction free space to explore innovative ideas. The ideas that fill the pages of the stylepress inspire others and influence their ideas, in this way the stylepress is an experimentation ground for trends in the design of branding, web, print, fashion and other areas.
The relationship between print content and online content is at an important stage of its development and using the stylepress as an experimental playground, new ideas can be explored about this relationship that could effect many other areas of design in the future.
Revising Central Proposition
Stylepress magazines are a explorative playground for designers, where new, innovative ideas can be realized. How can we use this to explore the new possibilities of combining print and web media?
Central Proposition, Abstract & Background
Problem – What will I change?
The nature of stylepress magazines makes it difficult for them to make full use of the advantages of moving content online. How can graphic design make help move content online while keeping everything good about the physical stylepress magazine?
Central Proposition:
How can stylepress magazines take advantage of the currently trending shift to digital or mixed distribution while retaining the tactile experience of a physical object.
/
How can communication design principles be applied to stylepress magazines to exploit the advantages of online content while retaining the tactile experience of a physical magazine?
Abstract:
Draft:
In the context of today’s largely digital media sphere, magazines can no longer be defined, as tradition has, by the bound and printed format. The opening line of David Rankins 2006 book The Last Magazine states plainly “magazines as we know them, are dying”. The current trend of digitizing magazine distribution holds potentially enormous gains but equally as significant perils, particularly for the stylepress magazine and the integrity of its audience experience.
Rankin theorizes that visually and physically engaging, creative high-end style and culture magazines, referred to as the stylepress, will be the last printed magazines. Stylepress magazines engage the audience through the tactile experience of the physical magazine, with innovative layouts and well considered tactile properties. A shift to digital distribution may well undermine the tactile stylepress experience or risk it’s extinction. My research aims to explore possible distribution models and design solutions to take advantage of new technology whithout undermining the properties of a stylepress magazine.
Research methods I will utilize include analysis and comparison of existing material and reading of key texts theorizing the future of what is now the print industry such as “The Last Magazine” by David Renard and “The End Of Print” by David Carson.
From this knowledge, I intend on developing a magazine format and distribution model that is catered for the unique needs of a stylepress magazine, retaining the user experience and essence of a magazine while challenging the audiences perception of what a magazine can be.
Revised:“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”, Idn magazine (Vol. 16, No.5, pg. 19) claims the famous Dickens opening line as the perfect metaphor for todays publishing industry. New technology poses both massive opportunities and equal pitfalls for the magazine industry and we as designers, will define how this technology is used, received and what it means for the future of the printed magazine.
David Renard theorizes that the stylepress, defined as “physically and aesthetically engaging chroniclers of trends”, will be the last printed magazines in existence. He justifies this by claiming that through their physicality, attributes such as format, materials and packaging, they transcend the boundaries of traditional publications. This poses particular difficulty for stylepress magazines that wish to move their content online for more cost effective distribution.
By exploring the physical and digital magazine formats through analysis, comparison, reading of key texts and personal interviews, this research intends to work towards developing a format and distribution model for stylepress magazines that takes advantage of the offerings of digitally based content while retaining the physical, tactile experience central to the stylepress philosophy.
Background Analysis:
Adrian Shaughnessy claims that a close study of magazines will reveal mostly everything there is to know about graphic design. The regular periodicals of various subject matter chronicle trends and development in communication design and so will they reflect the movement of design into the digital age.
This opinion is mirrored by Jeff Jarvis, cited by Renard (2006), who states that technology has defined how people understand a magazine and now that technology is changing, the printed format should no longer be the defining factor of what we see as a magazine.
The introduction of digital distribution comes with it a multitude of possibilities and conveniences for magazine publishers. Patrick Burgoyne presents (Leslie, 2003) that online distribution reaches a larger international audience, can present a wider range of content, is more cost effective and is not limited by regular release dates or advertiser demands. However, he also states that many publishers went head first into an unfamiliar market, sometimes losing millions, without understanding the intricate set of challenges faced in translating a print publication for the internet.
Renard theorizes that digital publishing has thus far failed to meet the common expectation to end printed magazines because the reader still desires a physical experience from a magazine and catering to these “tactile relationships” is one key to consumer adoption. Renard states that the fast access of information expected by the media consumer of today, has inevitably fated mass printed news media to purely online distribution, but once this shift is complete, high-end magazines referred to as the stylepress will be the last remaining printed magazines due to their exploitation of the aforementioned tactile relationship with the audience.
Jan Van Mol is quoted as calling the stylepress magazine “the canvas of the magazine artist”. Renard explains this by stating that the stylepress magazine is not tied to the content of news and current events, it is instead a result of the creators whim, becoming a creative output of the creator(s). Van Mol states that this creative output focuses on content experience offering multiple ways of experiencing content through design and writing teams, offering a back door to the how and why of the magazine. The experience of the content then becomes transformative and inspirational for the audience, creating value for the magazine over and above the information or content itself.
In my research I have discovered a number of distribution methods currently being utilized in stylepress and culture magazines incorporating various levels of online content. These range from the free exclusively online distribution of the irregularly published style zine SoKo with no direct advertising, to Auckland based Pilot magazine, who deal solely in a bi-annual printed format sold for a current price of $15NZD, with some limited advertising. In a comparison of these two formats, the theories of Renard and Van Mol seem to ring true, as I myself will browse a Pilot magazine many years after I purchase the publication, while though I enjoy and posess many of the SoKo pdf files, I rarely open them or lend them any thought.
Soko magazine, the indie e-zine of Buenos Aeries design studio Pogo Creative in its handling of the digital format has fallen into the trap outlined by Burgoyne (Leslie, 2003), though the design is of a high standard, the format has failed to engage the audience and be true to integrity of the magazine experience. When downloaded, SoKo comes to the consumer as a regular PDF file, similar to a pre-print magazine. In the design of this format, the physical experience of the page is lost but the unique abilities of a digital format are not exploited, manifesting the ‘worst of both worlds’ in some sense.
Contrasting this, the format of Pilot magazine creates an engaging reader experience through the considered use of varying stocks and printing techniques such as metallic overprint, all in a thick perfect bound volume and indeed they have stated themselves that design and typography play a large role in presenting their content to the best effect. However this distribution model is expensive and offers no extended experience such as multimedia material beyond the very limited content posted on their blog, largely unrelated to the printed content. Pilot have announced that an overhaul of the online blog is currently in process to create a website that better reflects the quality and elegance of their magazine as well as showcasing the magazine itself, showing that they have identified this as an issue.
In stark contrast to the traditional codex style browsing and reference offered by Pilot and SoKo, many stylepress magazines have disregarded a traditional bound format with examples appearing as varied as an “A4 block of wood” (Leslie, 2003) or a matchbox containing 20 miniature woodcut prints (Shaugnessy, 2008). Jacovides claims that ‘creative tycoons’ have not come together on this level to oppose the mainstream view since the post-punk record labels of the 1970s (Leslie,2003). These unoconventional approachs to magazine format are self reflexive, challenging the consumers idea of what a magazine can be, while also increasing the value of the magazine as a physical object and further engaging the audience in the tactile reading experience.
Throughout it’s history, the stylepress has made use of various innovative design and formats to engage the reader. I am inspired by this relatively short but rich history to continue the tradition of innovation in stylepress and take full advantage of the possibilities offered in a mixed digital/print distribution model.
The nature of stylepress magazines makes it difficult for them to make full use of the advantages of moving content online. How can graphic design make help move content online while keeping everything good about the physical stylepress magazine?
Central Proposition:
How can stylepress magazines take advantage of the currently trending shift to digital or mixed distribution while retaining the tactile experience of a physical object.
/
How can communication design principles be applied to stylepress magazines to exploit the advantages of online content while retaining the tactile experience of a physical magazine?
Abstract:
Draft:
In the context of today’s largely digital media sphere, magazines can no longer be defined, as tradition has, by the bound and printed format. The opening line of David Rankins 2006 book The Last Magazine states plainly “magazines as we know them, are dying”. The current trend of digitizing magazine distribution holds potentially enormous gains but equally as significant perils, particularly for the stylepress magazine and the integrity of its audience experience.
Rankin theorizes that visually and physically engaging, creative high-end style and culture magazines, referred to as the stylepress, will be the last printed magazines. Stylepress magazines engage the audience through the tactile experience of the physical magazine, with innovative layouts and well considered tactile properties. A shift to digital distribution may well undermine the tactile stylepress experience or risk it’s extinction. My research aims to explore possible distribution models and design solutions to take advantage of new technology whithout undermining the properties of a stylepress magazine.
Research methods I will utilize include analysis and comparison of existing material and reading of key texts theorizing the future of what is now the print industry such as “The Last Magazine” by David Renard and “The End Of Print” by David Carson.
From this knowledge, I intend on developing a magazine format and distribution model that is catered for the unique needs of a stylepress magazine, retaining the user experience and essence of a magazine while challenging the audiences perception of what a magazine can be.
Revised:“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”, Idn magazine (Vol. 16, No.5, pg. 19) claims the famous Dickens opening line as the perfect metaphor for todays publishing industry. New technology poses both massive opportunities and equal pitfalls for the magazine industry and we as designers, will define how this technology is used, received and what it means for the future of the printed magazine.
David Renard theorizes that the stylepress, defined as “physically and aesthetically engaging chroniclers of trends”, will be the last printed magazines in existence. He justifies this by claiming that through their physicality, attributes such as format, materials and packaging, they transcend the boundaries of traditional publications. This poses particular difficulty for stylepress magazines that wish to move their content online for more cost effective distribution.
By exploring the physical and digital magazine formats through analysis, comparison, reading of key texts and personal interviews, this research intends to work towards developing a format and distribution model for stylepress magazines that takes advantage of the offerings of digitally based content while retaining the physical, tactile experience central to the stylepress philosophy.
Background Analysis:
Adrian Shaughnessy claims that a close study of magazines will reveal mostly everything there is to know about graphic design. The regular periodicals of various subject matter chronicle trends and development in communication design and so will they reflect the movement of design into the digital age.
This opinion is mirrored by Jeff Jarvis, cited by Renard (2006), who states that technology has defined how people understand a magazine and now that technology is changing, the printed format should no longer be the defining factor of what we see as a magazine.
The introduction of digital distribution comes with it a multitude of possibilities and conveniences for magazine publishers. Patrick Burgoyne presents (Leslie, 2003) that online distribution reaches a larger international audience, can present a wider range of content, is more cost effective and is not limited by regular release dates or advertiser demands. However, he also states that many publishers went head first into an unfamiliar market, sometimes losing millions, without understanding the intricate set of challenges faced in translating a print publication for the internet.
Renard theorizes that digital publishing has thus far failed to meet the common expectation to end printed magazines because the reader still desires a physical experience from a magazine and catering to these “tactile relationships” is one key to consumer adoption. Renard states that the fast access of information expected by the media consumer of today, has inevitably fated mass printed news media to purely online distribution, but once this shift is complete, high-end magazines referred to as the stylepress will be the last remaining printed magazines due to their exploitation of the aforementioned tactile relationship with the audience.
Jan Van Mol is quoted as calling the stylepress magazine “the canvas of the magazine artist”. Renard explains this by stating that the stylepress magazine is not tied to the content of news and current events, it is instead a result of the creators whim, becoming a creative output of the creator(s). Van Mol states that this creative output focuses on content experience offering multiple ways of experiencing content through design and writing teams, offering a back door to the how and why of the magazine. The experience of the content then becomes transformative and inspirational for the audience, creating value for the magazine over and above the information or content itself.
In my research I have discovered a number of distribution methods currently being utilized in stylepress and culture magazines incorporating various levels of online content. These range from the free exclusively online distribution of the irregularly published style zine SoKo with no direct advertising, to Auckland based Pilot magazine, who deal solely in a bi-annual printed format sold for a current price of $15NZD, with some limited advertising. In a comparison of these two formats, the theories of Renard and Van Mol seem to ring true, as I myself will browse a Pilot magazine many years after I purchase the publication, while though I enjoy and posess many of the SoKo pdf files, I rarely open them or lend them any thought.
Soko magazine, the indie e-zine of Buenos Aeries design studio Pogo Creative in its handling of the digital format has fallen into the trap outlined by Burgoyne (Leslie, 2003), though the design is of a high standard, the format has failed to engage the audience and be true to integrity of the magazine experience. When downloaded, SoKo comes to the consumer as a regular PDF file, similar to a pre-print magazine. In the design of this format, the physical experience of the page is lost but the unique abilities of a digital format are not exploited, manifesting the ‘worst of both worlds’ in some sense.
Contrasting this, the format of Pilot magazine creates an engaging reader experience through the considered use of varying stocks and printing techniques such as metallic overprint, all in a thick perfect bound volume and indeed they have stated themselves that design and typography play a large role in presenting their content to the best effect. However this distribution model is expensive and offers no extended experience such as multimedia material beyond the very limited content posted on their blog, largely unrelated to the printed content. Pilot have announced that an overhaul of the online blog is currently in process to create a website that better reflects the quality and elegance of their magazine as well as showcasing the magazine itself, showing that they have identified this as an issue.
In stark contrast to the traditional codex style browsing and reference offered by Pilot and SoKo, many stylepress magazines have disregarded a traditional bound format with examples appearing as varied as an “A4 block of wood” (Leslie, 2003) or a matchbox containing 20 miniature woodcut prints (Shaugnessy, 2008). Jacovides claims that ‘creative tycoons’ have not come together on this level to oppose the mainstream view since the post-punk record labels of the 1970s (Leslie,2003). These unoconventional approachs to magazine format are self reflexive, challenging the consumers idea of what a magazine can be, while also increasing the value of the magazine as a physical object and further engaging the audience in the tactile reading experience.
Throughout it’s history, the stylepress has made use of various innovative design and formats to engage the reader. I am inspired by this relatively short but rich history to continue the tradition of innovation in stylepress and take full advantage of the possibilities offered in a mixed digital/print distribution model.
Pilot Magazine
Auckland based Pilot magazine fits the bill perfectly in Renards world of the stylepress, exclusively available in a large, elegant quarterly printed edition with varying stocks, containing showcases of illustration, graphic design, photography and fashion, reflected and enhanced through graphic design and typography. Pickering himself was quoted on twitter (earlier post) emphasising the importance of the creators input into the magazine rather than meeting current market demands. This philosophy fits with Renards view of the stylepress as a self-indulgent mission for the creator, that becomes transformative and inspiring for the reader through the input of creative ideas. I'm increasingly finding this self-indulgent design an important theme throughout stylepress magazines of all formats. By being designed in this way, the magazine becomes more of an artists object, freed from client or market demand restrictions, to be appreciated on a creative level, the creative team charging the work with their ideas and philosophies, the design and editorial team become more like fine artists, and the magazines become the visual manifestos for these editorial artists.
"Issue 6... another artistic, intelligent mixed bag of all the wonderful things creator Andy Pickering is into."
"It isn't really a magazine. It's more like a coffee table book of design, fashion, art, photography and ideas, or a time capsule of contemporary culture. I highly recommend you get a copy." - NZ design blog
These quote from NZ design blogs reviews of issues 5 and 6 of Pilot give credit to the self indulgence of the stylepress, proving that it is valued by the reader and providing insight into the reviewers relationship with the object, consistent with the audience relationships seen in previous research.
Analysis
(Issue 04) Spec: 240 pages
CMYK + Metallic, 3 stock
Published: Quarterly
Format: Perfect bound
Price: NZ$15
Content: Articles + interviews, heavily image based
Note: Still a fairly young magazine, pilot has some advertising and is more than likely faces restrictions in price.
Social networks: Twitter, blog
Renards Stylepress Features
Experienced based design: 4.5/5
Ideas over content: 5/5
Timeless experience: 5/5
Self-expression over market demand: 5/5
Interview with director of Idn
Interview from Stack
"It didn't really start out as a graphic design magazine – it started more to showcase what the printers could do back then, or what desktop publishing could do back then. Then when desktop publishing moved to more of a graphical base, so too did the magazine."
"I guess the difference between this generation and the generation is our ability to adapt, and people now are always changing to make things happen."
A fairly short interview with Chris Ng, director of Idn magazine but is packed with interesting information and views. Ng covers a lot of topics relevant to my project, including the intentions and philosophy of the magazine. As seems to ring true with most of the stylepress magazines I've looked into so far, the emphasis is on having an experimental space, to showcase new ideas, techniques and strategies. Also explained are how reader interactions with the magazine also are thought out, with sometimes innovative solutions such as having extra copy on the front cover to compensate for the 'protected' position that retailers often place Idn and less linear page structure to aid how a reader flicks through or goes back to reference a stylepress magazine.
Interestingly Ng also states that Idn is paid for completely by subscriptions and cover price allowing no advertisements, though he seems to welcome their addition.
"It didn't really start out as a graphic design magazine – it started more to showcase what the printers could do back then, or what desktop publishing could do back then. Then when desktop publishing moved to more of a graphical base, so too did the magazine."
"I guess the difference between this generation and the generation is our ability to adapt, and people now are always changing to make things happen."
A fairly short interview with Chris Ng, director of Idn magazine but is packed with interesting information and views. Ng covers a lot of topics relevant to my project, including the intentions and philosophy of the magazine. As seems to ring true with most of the stylepress magazines I've looked into so far, the emphasis is on having an experimental space, to showcase new ideas, techniques and strategies. Also explained are how reader interactions with the magazine also are thought out, with sometimes innovative solutions such as having extra copy on the front cover to compensate for the 'protected' position that retailers often place Idn and less linear page structure to aid how a reader flicks through or goes back to reference a stylepress magazine.
Interestingly Ng also states that Idn is paid for completely by subscriptions and cover price allowing no advertisements, though he seems to welcome their addition.
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Idn Magazine
Idn home page
"IdN (International designers' Network) is an international publication for creative people on a mission to amplify and unify the design community. It is devoted to bringing designers from around the globe together to communicate with, learn from and inspire one another. It has truly become what the initials of its title proclaim it to be — an international designers' network." - Idn
Idn is a graphic design based magazine
available in print and online. It has a so called "cult" following and "not only is the content varied... it is beautifully presented, each issue distinct in look and feel from each of the previous issues." (Mag Nation)
Idn magazine content as viewed online. All content is available for free. The white gradient bars mimick magazine, this may be added by their online publishing service (below.)
Analysis
Latest issue spec: 104 pages, 6 stocks,
CMYK + Spot UV + Vanish,
106 minute DVD of multimedia content.
Format: Perfect bound print with online replica.
Price: NZ$20 print copy, free to view online.
Content: Articles + interviews, heavily image based
Note: Advanced printing techniques, small book
inserts, poster sleeves and other features make
idn magazines highly desirabe object, this is
probably why the online version is available for free.
Social networks: Twitter, facebook, myspace, blogger,
tumblr, youtube, vimeo, issuu, google+
Renards Stylepress Features
Experienced based design: 4.5/5
Ideas over content: 4/5
Timeless experience: 5/5
Self-expression over market demand: 3/5
Meggs History of Graphic Design
Meggs' History of Graphic Design
Fourth Edition
Phillip B. Meggs
Alston W. Purvis
2006 John Wiley & Sons Inc
Hoboken, New Jersey
Key Notes:
Pg 161-165
The Rise of American editorial and advertising design.
The first pictorial magazine was the Harpers New Monthly published in 1850 as a 144 pages of "serialized Englished fiction" and "numerous woodcut illustrations", was accompanied by a Harpers Weekly and had other editions added later for woman and youth markets.
Magazines push print technology to evolve and they evolve alongside:
- Halftone printing, 1887.
- Two colour printing, 1893.
The development of magazines closely tied to the development of advertising agencies.
Pg 383-389
An editorial design revolution.
Editorial design after decline.
"Over the course of the 1950s a revolution in editorial design occurred, spurred in part by the design classes Brodovitch taught." - pg384
"Examine each problem thoroughly, develop a solution from the resulting understanding and then search for a brilliant visual presentation." - pg384
Fourth Edition
Phillip B. Meggs
Alston W. Purvis
2006 John Wiley & Sons Inc
Hoboken, New Jersey
Key Notes:
Pg 161-165
The Rise of American editorial and advertising design.
The first pictorial magazine was the Harpers New Monthly published in 1850 as a 144 pages of "serialized Englished fiction" and "numerous woodcut illustrations", was accompanied by a Harpers Weekly and had other editions added later for woman and youth markets.
Magazines push print technology to evolve and they evolve alongside:
- Halftone printing, 1887.
- Two colour printing, 1893.
The development of magazines closely tied to the development of advertising agencies.
Pg 383-389
An editorial design revolution.
Editorial design after decline.
"Over the course of the 1950s a revolution in editorial design occurred, spurred in part by the design classes Brodovitch taught." - pg384
"Examine each problem thoroughly, develop a solution from the resulting understanding and then search for a brilliant visual presentation." - pg384
Monday, 16 April 2012
Soko Online Zine
The magazine can be viewed online, or downloaded as a pdf. Still mostly utilizes a two page format. Contains very little text content and mostly contains fashion photography, graphic design and illustration.In almost every sense, Soko aligns with Renards ideas of a stylepress magazine, but the lack of a paper edition seems to go against the point behind what Renard is saying. I admit that it does seem a little toothless without a paper edition and I don't often return to my pdf copies of Soko, after the first couple of views, in comparison to a paper magazine. On the upside (arguably) this allows soko to run few or no ads, depending on whether you take the view that the magazine in itself is in a way an advert for the studio.
Analysis
Latest issue size: 56 pages.
Format: Online only
Publisher: (Independent) Soko design group
Price: Free
Content: Image based
Note: Intended as an experimental space for
design and collaboration.
Social networks: Twitter, blog.
Renards Stylepress Features
Experienced based design: 2/5
Ideas over content: 5/5
Timeless experience: 5/5
Self-expression over market demand: 5/5
Soko Zine in Pogo portfolio
Soko website
Otto Storch & McCalls Magazine
Innovative layouts by Otto Storch for McCalls magazine in the 1960s.
I think these layouts are great, especially considering the time they were made. The structure and flow work better than most magazines seen today.
Images from http://westread.blogspot.co.nz/2011/08/otto-storch-and-mccalls-fifty-years-ago.html
The Last Magazine
Interesting book I got out from the library, The Last Magazine by David Renard.
"Magazines, as we know them, are dying." - David Renard.
"The stylepress: physically and aesthetically engaging, vibrant creative chroniclers of trends. These will be the last printed magazines." - David Renard.
The book makes many interesting points about the future of magazines as well as differentiating mainstream media magazines from what he calls 'the stylepress'. Stylepress magazines as Renard defines them are vibrant luxurious design objects, which engage and inspire the audience through creativity. The book also displays a large number of examples sorted under questions about what a magazine should/could be, relating to the attributes of stylepress magazines, such as:
- "Why does the magazine experience have to be confined to flipping through pages?"
-"Why do magazines have to be designed for ease of use?"
-"Why are magazines created to be disposable?"
-"Why does a magazine have to be programmed to the lowest common denominator?"
These questions seem to sum up many of the key points stated by Rennard in regards to stylepress magazines. Experience based design, creativity and ideas over content, timeless value as an object rather than short lived value as news media and designing without the mainstream market demands in mind.
A lot of what Renard says seems to make sense and I think agree that this could be how the printed magazine is valued in the future, but I'm also interested in how the stylepress is represented in the digital form, or how it can be represented.
Notes/Quotes from reading The Last magazine by David Renard and Mute Magazine Graphic Design by Pauline Van Mourik Broekman, Simon Worthington and Damian Jaques:
Notes from reading The Last Magazine + a few short notes from Mute Magazine Graphic Design by Adrian Shaugnessy
| Reviewed by Magculture (website) |
"Magazines, as we know them, are dying." - David Renard.
"The stylepress: physically and aesthetically engaging, vibrant creative chroniclers of trends. These will be the last printed magazines." - David Renard.
The book makes many interesting points about the future of magazines as well as differentiating mainstream media magazines from what he calls 'the stylepress'. Stylepress magazines as Renard defines them are vibrant luxurious design objects, which engage and inspire the audience through creativity. The book also displays a large number of examples sorted under questions about what a magazine should/could be, relating to the attributes of stylepress magazines, such as:
- "Why does the magazine experience have to be confined to flipping through pages?"
-"Why do magazines have to be designed for ease of use?"
-"Why are magazines created to be disposable?"
-"Why does a magazine have to be programmed to the lowest common denominator?"
These questions seem to sum up many of the key points stated by Rennard in regards to stylepress magazines. Experience based design, creativity and ideas over content, timeless value as an object rather than short lived value as news media and designing without the mainstream market demands in mind.
A lot of what Renard says seems to make sense and I think agree that this could be how the printed magazine is valued in the future, but I'm also interested in how the stylepress is represented in the digital form, or how it can be represented.
Notes/Quotes from reading The Last magazine by David Renard and Mute Magazine Graphic Design by Pauline Van Mourik Broekman, Simon Worthington and Damian Jaques:
Notes from reading The Last Magazine + a few short notes from Mute Magazine Graphic Design by Adrian Shaugnessy
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