Future of Magazines

Magazines are the primary reasons I got into communications. I love video but the printed page is a thing of beauty to me. I took classes in editorial design and layout at the School of Visual Arts in my younger days and it made a lasting impression on how I consume the medium.

Since the advent of the website and online news, my magazine consumption has dropped dramatically. There was a time that I would go to the newsstand and spend upwards of $100 on magazines. I did so because I enjoyed the magazine experience – great photos, smart writing, interesting callouts, the incorporation of interesting and eye-catching advertising – all in an easy to carry form. With the advent of the internet, magazines became too static. The only magazines that I read now tend to be timely – the Economist, BusinessWeek – or rely upon the printed page heavily, titles like Car & Driver and design titles like Metropolis. These publications have great websites but their physical presence is too gorgeous to pass up.

That's why I'm so excited about the iPad. It has the potential to return editorial design to its' rightful place as an art form but bolstered with the benefits of dynamic content. I must admit that I have been disappointed in the translation of the magazine to the iPhone/iPod Touch. I like them in principal but the compromise is always too great. GQ is a perfect example. Great effort but one just can't see the clothes well enough to substitute for the large format pictures the magazine allows.

I look forward to seeing how publications adapt to this device. I'm encouraged by the newspapers' first efforts, based on what I see. But it's publications like GQ, Vanity Fair, Metropolis and Architectural Digest that will push the envelope of content. The journey begins on April 3rd, 2010.