#modernmagazine2014

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Here’s our second film interview from The Modern Magazine 2014. Elana Schlenker is the Brooklyn-based graphic designer behind ‘pamphlet of typographic smut’ Gratuitous Type. She discusses the origi...

[lccdps2014]

Modern Magazine 2014 | Loi Xuan Ly 

Hello, here is a very brief summary of some of my highlights from yesterday.  LCC held the Modern Magazine 2014 conference on 19th September. An event that gathered magazine geeks together to share their story, to iterate the importance of print, to show us it’s possible to start our own magazine and to remind us that we’re all going through the same process, big or small. 

*Speaker : Magazine

‘Certain things just feel more solid when reading on print’

Kai Brach : Offscreen Magazine  

After 10 years in the digital design workforce, Kai took a cyber leave of absence and headed straight into creating his first ever magazine ‘Offscreen' with no prior knowledge and experience. Kai Brach talk was delightful. He didn’t shadow his anxiety and process of making his magazine. He was down to earth with the process and shared us his experience which we all could recognise as makers of things.

‘Print is linear’ which is an element we ‘appreciate’ when we think of the ‘distraction’ that comes from reading an article online. 

Aside from showing how much, a passion can drive you, he was open to showing his workflow. From using Google Docs so people can collaborate, and a excel spreadsheet to plan his magazine content. There’s a community driven mindset in Kai. More of him and the magazine can be found here; www.offscreenmag.com/

'We have bookshelves because we want to show, who we are. We treat our belongings like trophies.’

Rob Orchard : Delayed Gratification

We are constantly bombarded with breaking news all the time. We’re given a glimpse of an issue at it’s most critical moment then suddenly, we hear nothing of it anymore. And the cycle repeats. We’re left without an ending. The solution to this? Delayed Gratification, a magazine which ‘revisits the events of the previous three months to see what happened after the dust settled and the news agenda moved on.’ Rob Orchard is one of the people behind the slow journalism revolution; right journalism, rather then first journalism. 

http://www.slow-journalism.com/

‘Doing something that you're not mean’t to do, makes me feel more comfortable’

Elana Schlenker : Gratuitous Type 

I haven’t listened to her talk yet, and I’ve already brought my self a copy of Gratuitous type. How impulsive? But the youthfulness appealed to me. I'm not a sucker for pretty things, but it was different. It wasn’t a want/need situation, it was a nature/nurture situation. (Listen to me justifying my purchase)

Gratuitous Type is ‘a pamphlet of typographic smut, which offers interviews and projects from leading creatives.' ‘Each issue has it’s own visual vocabulary’ Her take on branding, Gratuitous Type is ever changing and that’s what makes it revitalising. 

gratuitoustype.com

 ‘How long should a caption be?’

Veronica Ditting : The Gentlewoman 

I enjoyed listening to the process of making The Gentlewoman by Veronica Ditting. From constant sketches and layouts and handwriting ‘Paris’ for hours to find the perfect one. Her reasons for choosing the typeface, Futura. She and her team can connect with it’s value and their ‘no-nonsense approach.’ ‘How long should a caption be?’, is the sort of thing that Veronica Ditting would contemplate about. The small details that makes a big difference.

http://thegentlewoman.co.uk/

Danny Miller : Weapons of Reason

To end this post, Danny Miller came through with a fantastic talk on his new magazine, Weapons of Reason. A magazine that articulates the global challenges that shapes our world through past, present, future. Most importantly, Danny Miller wants to encourage readers with 'action points' that they can sought out after reading. It means that the connection with the magazine develops further than reading the experience. It's similar to when you finished reading a good book, that it makes you want to learn more about the author or the themes and ideas in it. And to give action point, is to suggest resources that has been thoroughly researched and important. That's being transparent and open, which is an act of kindness that all Modern Magazine speakers gave in abundance. 

http://weaponsofreason.com/

More about the conference and the speakers can be found here;

http://magculture.com/blog/

Anyways I managed to take a few photos of some of the speakers for the blog. I didn’t think about it at first, but it was a good way to get into a conversation with them. So it was nice to briefly talk to you all (whom I took photos of) In order of appearance: Kai Brach, Rob Orchard, Elana Schlenker, Adam Moss.

Can we get LCC to stock these magazines? 

[modmag14]

Here’s the final line-up for this year’s Modern Magazine day in London on 19 September. The day will be first and foremost a celebration of editorial creativity, as we hear from some of the most in...

The Modern Magazine 2014 — What next for magazines? Conference held at London College of Communication. Nearest underground: Elephant and Castle.

[modmag14]

Speaker at The Modern Magazine 2014

The Gentlewoman

Veronica Ditting, The Gentlewoman (UK/Netherlands) Veronica Ditting is a graphic designer and art director and runs her design studio from London and Amsterdam. Since graduating from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 2005, she has worked for a wide range of clients including individuals and institutions within the fields of art, architecture and fashion. Veronica is the art director of the biannual magazines The Gentlewoman and COS magazine.

Her work circumscribes various aspects of editorial design and art direction, in the form of publications made in close collaboration with artists, visual identities and exhibition design for clients such as the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, White Cube gallery, Selfridges, Pollini, De Nederlandsche Bank (The Dutch Bank), Barbara Visser, Lernert & Sander, Luca Guadagnino and others. She was the art director of Fantastic Man until 2013.

Veronica’s  work has been nominated and awarded with several awards such as the Best Dutch Book Designs, D&AD (British Design & Art Direction) awards, Magpile awards, Dutch Design Awards and the Aica Awards. She lectures and holds workshops at art and design schools such as the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, ÉCAL (École cantonale d’art de Lausanne), the Willem de Kooning Academy and Bauhaus Universität Weimar.