At Grids, the Society of Publication Designers blog (of which I am a huge fan), Robert Newman reports on the redesign of The Texas Observer, a biweekly magazine specializing in investigative journalism. Austin-based design firm Em Dash was in charge of reimagining the look and feel of the 50-plus-year-old publication, and Newman notes that principles Erin Mayes and Kate Iltis really had their work cut out for them.
“The challenge was to create a template that could be produced by one part-time art director with a $450 art budget per issue,” he writes. Wow.
Here, courtesy of Grids, is what the Observer used to look like:
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And here’s how it looks post-makeover:
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Em Dash, says Newman, delivered “a sharp, smart, right on, low-budget, high-impact design, perfect for the magazine’s mix of muckraking reporting and liberal politics.”
He goes on to explore sample spreads from the new issue, with commentary by Mayes and Iltis. Notably, the designers have made space for documentary photography. It’s only a page, and the work must center on Texas (hey, it’s a Lone Star magazine), but still.
“We wanted to make the Observer an outlet for documentary photography work in Texas, to take advantage of the many fantastic photographers here,” Mayes tells Newman. “The editors agreed to give the last page of the magazine to feature work from photographers’ projects. Each caption links to the photographer’s website and the full story that is already posted online.”
Here’s a photo from the series “Love Among the Lost” by Nicole Frugé, who’s based in Norfolk, Virginia.
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I’m curious to know how they found Frugé, so I’m going to send her a note and see if I can get the story. Meanwhile, the magazine has printed a call for Texas-based documentary photography “that covers the strangest state.” Email may [at] texasobserver.org for details.
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This entry was written by
Kristina Feliciano and posted on
February 10, 2010 at 2:46 pm and filed under News & Commentary with tags Bob Moser, documentary photography, Em Dash, Erin Mayes, Kate Iltis, Nicole Frugé, Robert Newman, society of publication designers, The Texas Observer. Bookmark the
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Redesigned “Texas Observer” magazine seeks documentary photography about the Lone Star State
At Grids, the Society of Publication Designers blog (of which I am a huge fan), Robert Newman reports on the redesign of The Texas Observer, a biweekly magazine specializing in investigative journalism. Austin-based design firm Em Dash was in charge of reimagining the look and feel of the 50-plus-year-old publication, and Newman notes that principles Erin Mayes and Kate Iltis really had their work cut out for them.
“The challenge was to create a template that could be produced by one part-time art director with a $450 art budget per issue,” he writes. Wow.
Here, courtesy of Grids, is what the Observer used to look like:
.
.
And here’s how it looks post-makeover:
.
.
Em Dash, says Newman, delivered “a sharp, smart, right on, low-budget, high-impact design, perfect for the magazine’s mix of muckraking reporting and liberal politics.”
He goes on to explore sample spreads from the new issue, with commentary by Mayes and Iltis. Notably, the designers have made space for documentary photography. It’s only a page, and the work must center on Texas (hey, it’s a Lone Star magazine), but still.
“We wanted to make the Observer an outlet for documentary photography work in Texas, to take advantage of the many fantastic photographers here,” Mayes tells Newman. “The editors agreed to give the last page of the magazine to feature work from photographers’ projects. Each caption links to the photographer’s website and the full story that is already posted online.”
Here’s a photo from the series “Love Among the Lost” by Nicole Frugé, who’s based in Norfolk, Virginia.
.
.
I’m curious to know how they found Frugé, so I’m going to send her a note and see if I can get the story. Meanwhile, the magazine has printed a call for Texas-based documentary photography “that covers the strangest state.” Email may [at] texasobserver.org for details.
.
.