I’m in love with a magazine

Monocle Magazine

I can still remember the day when I walked into Bulldog news stand in the University District of Seattle and first spotted a Monocle magazine. It was in the summer and it was the publication’s annual quality of life survey, which includes a review of the world’s top 25 cities based on quality of life and explores the things that make an urban environment a truly great one.

Needless to say, I quickly fell in love.

Over the next several months I became a devote reader of Monocle’s monthly issues and have continued to pick up a copy when I can. At $10 a pop its at least a $100 investment a year, but well worth it.

Monocle is a British based publication with a global perspective on urban culture, design and even fashion. Stories can range from interviews with city planners, an emerging neighborhood in Japan or even a photo spread of coffee shops from around the world. This year’s quality of life survey provides the list of top 25 but also explores other emerging communities, such as Newark. The magazine includes great writing and is informative, but I think the part I like the most is its experiential aspect. In today’s world of multimedia and wireless communication, Monocle continues to take pride in a printed product. It offers stunning imagery, smart ads, and other substance, such as pullout booklets and even comics.

When I pick up a Monocle I feel like I am picking up a complete media experience, minus the digital screen. However, its not a slice of nostalgia or a look back in time. Its very fresh and relevant but finds a different way to capture a reader’s soul beyond the common tools of today’s multimedia world.

I almost wonder if there is a lesson for newspaper in Monocle. The magazine embraces technology online and I am not a person that believes newspapers should be printed just for the sake of printing paper, but newspapers haven’t really changed much over the past decade when it experienced an assault from Web-based publications. If anything, the only change newspapers have made i by getting smaller.

Could a newspaper include comic book pullouts, sections devoted to stunning images and a re-imagination of the front page? Newspapers are still an experience but that experience hasn’t necessarily evolved over the past decade.
Monocle is an example of quality, care and stellar design being put back into a printed product; I just wish that mindset would spill more over into mainstream journalism.

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