magazines and design

Design Discussions general design discussion
1

So a straw poll for the boards. Let’s say I have a $250 budget for my annual subscriptions (time to renew etc). I am looking at the following, and trying to decide what gets me the most bang for my buck in terms of casting the widest net with the best information and exposes me to the most things I wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to without drowning me in way more than I can absorb etc. I realize a lot of content is available online, but that content tends to result in me only reading stuff I am predisposed to reading, hence print and snail mail.

Harvard Business Review - $80ish
Sunday NYTimes - $125ish
Business Week - $50ish
Fast Company - $10ish
Wired - $10ish
National Geographic - $25ish
Wall Street Journal (6 days a week) - $120ish
Metropolis - $25ish

Other suggestions are welcome, too.

2

My favorite of those are wired and national geographic.

but on a side note: there are a ton of free magazine subscriptions on the slickdeals forums (a website dedicated to finding the best deals online): Free Magazines - Slickdeals.net. You will be able to get a few of your magazines through some of the links posted there- you can check the “hot deals” section to see if there are any other subscription deals, as there usually are.

3

Your interests are pretty different than mine, but on that list I would get Wired, Fast Co, and Metropolis and add Time!

4

Subscription I have:
National Geographic - $15
Fast Company - $?
Curve (ID magazine for Australia) - $150
Innovation - IDSA membership
DMI Review and Journal - Design Management Institute membership

5

Never heard of the DMI mag before. What’s your take on it?

6

I like it because it covers a lot of design and business topics.

I forgot one other magazine:
Popular Science - $0 because my dad gives it to me as an xmas gift each year.

7

Anyone ever cash in unused airline miles for mags?

I picked up Fast Co, ESPN and Wired that way.

Wallpaper* would be a nice addition

8

+1 on National Geographic. I was given a lifetime subscription when I was a kid and it’s shaped me, though not so directly design related

If you’re specializing in a certain area of design, you might want to add specific mags to cover trends. Auto, Watches, CMF, lifestyle, furniture, prototyping, etc…

Also, here in the UK, DesignWeek is a good one for local design info

It’s the same as the annual DMI journals, right? They are great and are a high level discussion about design and management topics, here’s a list of the review themes over the years http://www.dmi.org/dmi/html/publications/journal/index_d.jsp

I used to have journal access, and there are surprising amounts of other very interesting design related titles out there…

9

Every now and then I pick up Dwell from a newstand. Sort of more architecture/living but bits of design in there too. Mostly covers interesting houses/renovations people have done, with a focus on “modern” styles.

10

From a strictly “nuts & bolts” point of view (bearings, clutches, fasteners, materials, mechanical, electrical, and electronic components, hydraulics, CAD resources, etc.):

Machine Design and Design News; they’re free.

11

You guys make some glaring omissions- Below, some hardore found in most of the places I’ve ever worked- some going back decades:

Colors Magazine was great, but now a shadow of its former self since Tibor Kalman died.

Axis Magazine has some lovely stuff from time to time, but seems heavy on polemic these days.

Domus Magazine for its glorious photography of stunning architecture.

Intramuros sometimes has some nice visual confection.

Form Magazine for the suppressed Teutonic in you.

Monocle What Tyler Brule does since he left Wallpaper behind…

Creative Review Lots of digital media work from the UK

Blueprint Architecture and design from the UK


But I’m leaving trees behind now, relying instead on on-line publishing to punish the earth’s natural resources.

12

Azure (Canada) is very good . A bit like Metropolis, but more focused on design and architecture, and less on urban planning (and generally better produced).

I have no idea how much a subscription is, but I like reading the Economist on transpac flights. Getting it every week would probably seem like a homework assignment though. I can’t stay on top of that much content.

For my money, I’d skip the WSJ. Daily print newspapers seem so pointless now.

13

I ran across back issues of a magazine called DAMN°. I like it so far.

Also occasionally pick up Abitare if I browse something interesting.

14

Abitare… great magazine, almost as old as Domus (first published in 1928).

edit - Sorry, SV, didn’t see your “Domus” reference.

15

I will also cast my vote for Fast co, metropolis, and wired. Wired and fastco usually pop up on tanga once a month or so for $2.99/year, so I just keep extending another 3 years. I also decided to check out design Bureau because it was relatively inexpensive. They cover almost anything creative (product, graphic, photo/art, fashion) so it isnt very specific. All in all, im not disappointed by it. The print/paper quality is unsurpassed though. These arent the cheap-o gloss pages to just throw away.

We get Dwell at work, and it sometimes bothers me how predictable it has become (bare wood rooms anyone?)

16

The first year of Dwell was awesome and then it became repetitive to me. I also liked Metropolis before they went to the smaller mag size - somehow, the content changed when they did that, but maybe it’s just me.

I also got a free subscription to Bloomberg Businessweeek that I’ve been enjoying. Similar to Fast Co., but different.

17

Dwell… showcasing unlivable homes since 2000.

18

Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions.