Kuchar Swara looks to the publishing industry for examples of modernism in practice
Never has a time been more ripe for innovation in publishing. A combination of pressures have pushed publishers, editors and art directors to new frontiers along modernist lines of enquiry. Lines of enquiry that have questioned the very meaning of what a magazine can be, questioning its form, function and beauty (thanks Max Bill).
The last 10 – 15 years has seen a catalogue of examples of inquiry, here are some:
Monocle
Can a magazine behave more like a luxury brand, with shops, books, merchandise and a radio station, as well as a print edition?
Bloomberg Business Week
Can we create a new design vocabulary for the weekly magazine?
IL
Can infographics play a more central role in editorial design?
032c
Can we throw out almost all established rules of typographic etiquette?
Porter / Net-a-Porter
Can we establish a magazine to support and grow a successful retail operation?
The examples above are a confirmation that modernist ideas are very much alive and kicking. Intentionally or not – modernism’s core principle of the re-examination of existence, are very much in play within the publishing world. With future developments in technology and general changes in the function of what we now call a ‘magazine’, the future holds exciting possibilities for the medium.
