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.

Paperless world?

The Paper Boy
Originally uploaded by from a second story.

I am clearing out my blogs today – spring cleaning as it were – and I happened upon an article from BrandWeek regarding the demise direct mail. The medium is declining, with forecasts predicting at nearly 40% drop in spending by 2013. That's almost $20 billion disappearing. The article mentions that for a time, direct mail was the number one marketing expenditure. This forecast predicts that it will fall to four place – under broadcast TV, radio and newspapers. Of course, in its' place will be email, already moving to the number one digital spend.

That got me to thinking about the printed word and/or image. In my lifetime, I could witness the virtual elimination of printed content. For someone who used to be a huge magazine fan, it's a shocking development. There's something reassuring about paper, namely the texture, color and infinite variety. What would happen if paper really were to disappear, as those calling for the paperless office have been eagerly awaiting?

I'm sorry to see paper go – and let's be real it won't go anywhere for a long time. But at the same time, I like the idea of a less resource dependent way of interacting with words and pictures.

That's why I took to the Kindle and that's why I embrace any solution that will be forthcoming in digitizing the magazine experience – glossy photos, intriguing headlines, ground breaking layouts, and a mix of serious and fluff pieces. The web has gone a long way to bridge the gap but I find websites too confining in that they require computers to interact with them. I just want to turn a page.

Content providers have developed iPhone apps to bridge the gap – Style.com is one – but I want something more vibrant and less power-hungry. Plenty of readers are looking to jump into this space so more soon, I'm sure.