Decay that is beautiful

I effing love this magazine.

In their words...
Beginning as a hand-photocopied, black and white ‘zine, some ten years ago, Beautiful/Decay has always prided itself on putting artists—and quality content. In keeping with the spirit of our independent, DIY philosophy, we have decided to break the mold of traditional magazines, cut out the (sub)standard print industry and change up the way we do business. Beautiful/Decay has more of the content you love, with none of the filler.

B/D Magazine Features:

-No traditional advertising
-164 pages of pure, unfiltered content
-In depth, full color features, articles and interviews
-Limited edition format of only 1,500 copies—each one hand numbered
-Each issue includes a limited edition sticker designed by one of the issue’s featured artists
-French flaps, multiple printing processes within
-Releases 3 times a year (once every four months)

Beautiful/Decay is only sold on a subscriber basis and a select group of boutiques and bookstores.

Wrap Me Up In Foil

For the holiday issue of SObefit Magazine we decided to do a full foil cover. I love foil for the holidays, I feel they go hand, so I was really excited for this project. To set your file up you still silo everything as a perfect cut, no feathering. It's amazing how much detail shows up and how precise the adhesive was with all the crevices. I had only worked with hot foil stamping in the past so when I did some research on it I came across this info and found it really helpful:

What is Cold Foil?
Cold Foil Printing is an in line process that works on rotary letterpress and rotary flexo presses closely duplicating hot foil stamping, but cold foil printing is faster, more efficient, and does not require the costly dies associated with hot foil stamping.
Regular anilox rollers and photopolymer plates transfer UV curable adhesive onto a wide variety of stocks. It can be applied in spot or solid print matching most artwork or design imaginable.

Process:
The specially formulated UV-curable adhesive is first printed with a standard photopolymer plate onto the web substrate. The adhesive is then cured with a UV dryer, making the adhesive "tacky." The specially formulated foil is then laminated onto the tacky adhesive with a high pressure nip assembly which transfers the foil onto the adhesive. The remaining foil is then removed and wounded onto a waste wind up.

HipHop Weekly, my night job

Hip Hop Weekly Wins "Best Magazine" at Urban Music Awards - Mixtapekings.com News

I design for them. We got an award. Check out the article. Toot!

Build me a letterpress. Do it.

Build a Letterpress & Use It to Print Things - More DIY How To Projects

Creepy can be charming

I have said it before, but I must once again recommend Steven Clay and Rodney Phillips’ A Secret Location on the Lower East Side. I reread it and it is as informative and fascinating as ever. This book, more than any other, shaped my understanding of the little magazine in the post World War II era. The pictures and bibliographies are fantastic, not to mention essential, for the Burroughs collector.
Before Clay’s book, I believed that the magazines and books of the mimeograph revolution were all made on mimeographs. Actually, only roughly half of the magazines in Secret Location were produced with that technology. The introduction states, “Direct access to mimeograph machines, letterpress, and inexpensive offset made these publishing ventures possible, putting the means of production in the hands of the poet.” Secret Location encouraged me to delve more deeply into the technologies behind the little magazine boom.

Figure it out, bitch.

Neville Brody designed the August subscriber cover for Wallpaper*. He says it's a coded reference to how he feels about his work. I can relate! I love that when I look at this I feel like I just opened a refreshing bottle of Mickeys and found the riddle under the bottle cap. P.S. The answer is I HATE DESIGN.

Non-Format, thank you for blowing my mind.

The July issue of Computer Arts has a cover design by Non-Format, featuring embossing and die-cuts that fold out to spell the word ‘BIRTH’. Portfolio: www.non-format.com

Music Lovers Unite

Music reviews, band/artist interviews and no bullshit. Skyscraper is my new favorite music pub. Reminds me of my Tallahassee days, hiding in the magazine corner at Vintage Vinyl reading up on the latest, trying to find the soundtrack to my life. The format gives the reader an underground feel- printed in a thick newsprint, no color, with a bulky amount of pages, all bound together on a matte, full color, stock cover- heavy loaded with illustration- you know you are reading something that had a lot of love put into it. The editorial design is so simple and straight-forward, it almost feels like it was put together in someone's basement. First issue was published in 1998- rooted by Peter and Andrew Bottomley.

Deep Pockets

Got a chance to look at issue 56 of Visionaire and all I have to say is WOW. Under indoor light the case that holds the board bound book with white embroidery on the cover and black and white photography inside is entirely white. When the issue hits sunlight everything transforms into color. This would explain the $675 subscription price. Limited edition of 3,000 numbered copies. I want to know where they got this printed and how big was that invoice!!!
AND- Visionaire World also unveiled the Goyard Trunk Magazine Collection- kill me now, please. It is a series of 10 numbered trunks designed to hold issues 1-50 of Visionaire. Currently on display at Goyard's historic Paris flagship: Maison Goyard 233, Rue Saint-Honore, Paris, France.

Stick it to the man.

Instructions...
A do-it-yourself jam: just print the PDF on label sheets and stick them on all the commercial magazines you love to hate. www.areyougeneric.org/confessions

ha ha ha.

Why not in Miami?

Frustrated by my limited selection of magazines in Miami (If I want to check out alternative pubs I either hit up Borders...bleh, or Base on Lincoln Rd) I am going to wish upon a star...I WANT MAGMA IN MIAMI!! While I lived in London one of my second homes was Magma. This store looks like something straight out of Michel Gondry's Science of Sleep, and is a magazine/book buyers dream come true. Jam packed full of the interesting, inspiring, unique and the quirky pubs/dvds from big brands, to one off kind local designs, it's my mecca. Needless to say I came back to Miami with a jumbo suitcase full of books and magazines from there and I had to pay a $300 overweight luggage fee. Worth every penny.

Stop fucking with my eyes

The re-design of the US magazine Dwell by art director Kyle Blue makes me want to throw up. His 90 degree page turn-around has been discussed as a "playful change", done in order to "stimulate the reader". Well, as a reader and a designer I say "NO THANKS." There is a major turn off about having to read an article about design as a Playboy centerfold. If I wanted to be that uncomfortable while I read I would just pick up a newspaper.

Changes at Interview

M/M Paris have now taken over the design and art direction of Interview, with the first sign of change being the revised logo. I understand the need to update but the change wasn't loud enough to have a purpose. Note to M/M Paris- conceptualize or don't waste your energy.

Shepard Fairey still knocks my socks off, except I don't really wear socks.

Swindle- the Studio One project. I wish I was this cool. Bi-monthly, hanging out with Banksy and just overall amazing graphics.
check it: swindlemagazine.com