Justin Thomas Kay

Some fun layouts by Justin Thomas Kay for New York Magazine. I’m a big fan of the bright colors and mini-infographics.

Arkitip

Arkitip is an amazing publication that is packaged more like a series of design objects than a magazine. Each artist that is selected to create the cover/packaging also becomes the curator for that issue.  The size and shape is constantly changing, and some of the issues are all about the experience of interacting with the publication.

Slanted

Slanted Magazine has some great visuals, though it is hard to gain much from the text, as it switches between German, English, and French, without translating the different languages. I like the way they change up the layout and play with different ways of arranging the elements on the page.

I.D. Magazine

I really enjoy I.D. Magazine (International Design, not the winky face i-D) because it is always laid out very cleanly, with lots of white space. It feels curated, and I often find the little snippets of information in captions and small descriptions full of fascinating content. My favorite little feature is still from the FOB of an issue in spring of 2009 that talked about a DNA typeface that was made up of the 4 necessary characters, but were visual characters based on how humans read, not existing alphabetical characters as they had always been written.

I am sad to see it go.

Picame

Picame is a bilingual online magazine whose content is largely composed of illustration and photography. What little text is in the magazine is usually presented first in Italian, with the english translation hidden in the back of the magazine. There is a loose style to the magazine, but it has a very free spirit and craziness about it that I like.

http://www.picamemag.com

Grid Magazine

Grid Magazine is an online magazine (published through issuu.com) focused on ways that Philadelphia can be/ is working on being more sustainable. The layouts are sometimes very busy, but I thought there were some interesting ideas in there, especially ways of using the grid and visualizing complex subjects simply and clearly.

http://issuu.com/redflagmedia/docs/grid_2009.12

ilovefake Magazine

ilovefake Magazine is a bi-monthly digital publication based in the Netherlands. It focuses on fashion, art, and youth culture. They look for the new, up-and-coming trends and talent to feature in their content and use to produce it.

http://www.ilovefakemagazine.com/

Pictory

Pictory is an online magazine started by Laura Brunow Miner. She chooses themes and asks people to submit their one best photo for that theme. She them curates and publishes the best of the best. Her most recent theme is San Francisco. The idea is to see the difference in ways that different people observe, experience, and capture their surroundings.

http://www.pictorymag.com/

UPPERCASE

UPPERCASE is “a magazine for the creative and curious.” It was started by Janine Vangool (now the publisher/editor/designer) as an extension of UPPERCASE gallery, which she opened in 2005. The magazine serves as an outlet for both created and collected visual content. They take art and writing submissions through their website at http://www.uppercasegallery.ca/guidelines/

lula magazine

International stylists, photographers,musicians, artists,illustrators and journalists work towards creating a gorgeous magazine that is not only a forum for beautiful work and fresh ideas, but that reads like the honest, funny, and aspirational best friend you dream of. Weighing in at almost 3 pounds, Lula Magazine is the best of fashion magazines from the 60s and 70s come to life with modern content. You’ll love everything about the magazine, from the thick, glossy paper to the dreamy photographs, beautiful drawings, and interesting articles.

-Tara