125 Magazine

Definitely a magazine that if you haven't already found, your missing out on. Printed quarterly, the magazine specializes in the best photographers, artists, and creative thinkers of the present to put together a mix of takes on certain topics. This month it was luxury. The budget and expertise exhibited in their photos are nothing short of fantastic, developing a creative lust to experiment in design for everyone. 125 also have interviews with Katherine Hamnett and Quentin Mackay, a feature on Chanel and an in depth retrospective with fashion photography supremo Glen Luchford Luxury Issue

Monograph

Monograph is Creative Review’s free monthly publication exclusively for subscribers. They like to see it as a thank you to their readership for their loyalty. Creative review was the first magazine to introduce, way back in 1995, a free monthly CD-Rom which brought a whole new medium to news stands; it was a revolution. Eight years on, the World Wide Web having expanded beyond anyone’s wildest expectations, and the CD-Rom format had become extraneous: much of what it offered was readily available on YouTube and websites, it was no longer a forward thinking device and so CR sat and scratched their heads and decided to strip it all back and give a gift of real tangible delight, once again leading a revolution...

In a digital era nothing is sacred, the internet devours all and regurgitates through the monitors of millions of flat, radiating computer screens all generic. Nothing is special or unique or something to treasure. Printed press is becoming a designers’ delicacy and CR, recognising this, gave us Monograph. The charm is in its simplicity. These little A5 gems are as collectable as pristinely packaged Star Wars action figures. They are souvenirs of the modern age; each one a personal project printed, with refinement, on crisp gloss and pressed together between thick chromatic greys with foil emboss. Shown here is January’s issue which featured wonderful images of Japanese Dekatori by photographer Satoshi Minakawa that left a real impression on me. The publications are intended to be inspiring explorations of new ideas where quality of image and production are at the forefront.

Beach Culture

Legible magazine design??? Quality aesthetic design or targeted towards such a small target audience that only a few selected and intended audience members appreciate this work. Meet David Carson:

6 Mill

With a response to my previous article on CR's new production Monograph, Six Hundred Millimeters produces a new spin towards online magazine viewing, yes, not a new movement, but the magazine certainly hasn't been laid out in the normal conventional manner. With a small but powerful production team, this magazine isn't to be sniffed at, but something to be influenced by.

2nd Sight

I've heard you either love or hate much of the work Carson does. I've also heard you can learn to love.

Above is a quote mentioned about Carson's aptly named '2nd sight' book; a progression from his first visually bombarding book 'End of Print'. Written by fellow designer Lewis Blasckwell, there is much more detail applied to the hows and whys or Carson's design nature. Sure, we have all heard of his surfer upbringing and lack of graphic education, this book however, explains his intuition behind his motivation to design and effectively allows you not so much to love his work, but understand it.

The different approaches to design and the so called 'rules' he is redefining have been the influence for my dissertation on the evolution of opinions towards rules. Carson's approach to design is dictated 100% by the target audience, with his own angle injected into the final outcome. The people who hate his work in my eyes have not and will not be his target audience. The book shows work from his past magazines, magazines he directed towards a rock n roll lifestyle. Take a look at it, granted you may hate it, but I struggle to believe you won't in some way shape or form start oozing creativity once you've laid the book down.