Every so often, we at beetroot towers like to get together to discuss the things that excite, enthuse and enrich us as communications professionals. This time the subject was our favourite magazine.
All attendees were asked to bring along their favourite magazine and explain why it particularly appeals. Some waxed lyrical, others waxed and waned – here’s a selection…
First up was that titan of the newsstand, Wired.
We looked at the UK and US versions of the tech and lifestyle title, wondering at its innovation and bold presentation. Lesson – change of pace and accessibility doesn’t mean just sticking in a few crossheads. It’s about great content, which Wired has in abundance.
Women’s commuter freesheet Stylist was next under beetroot’s big purple microscope.
We all agreed it is the perfect commuter read – punchy editorial embedded in well-formatted design means a reader always knows where they are, even amid the seething morass of humanity aboard the 7.20 from Penge. It was also judged to be more intelligent than some of the equivalent newsstand titles.
Another weekly freebie, Sport, fared less well.
Some felt that, with a readership of over 300,000, Sport ought to do better. It’s been around for a long time, but still lacks the personality and boldness of some other sport titles.
Being based in Shoreditch, we had to nod in the direction of Ernest, a biannual indie title aimed at “curious and adventurous gentlefolk”.
At over 100 pages, and £10 a pop, it was not to everybody’s taste. But lovely design and off-beat content – lots of passion on the subject of cloudberry foraging – won it some friends.
Another one that split opinion was Pulp, a small mag put together by Canadian graphics publication Eye for Italian paper and print company Fedrigoni.
Some marvelled at its beautiful production, others were unconvinced by the occasionally low key design.
We finished with a bang in the form of market leading movie mag Empire – Ooh the gloss. Ooh the glamour. Ooh the photo budget.
Empire is packed full of informed content, passionately presented. Inventive use of imagery and fonts bring a bespoke feel to every feature. Although some mentioned that it can read like a feature length advertorial, it is an undoubted newsstand classic.
