Editorial design: What to expect

Editorial design:

What can future graduates expect?

After realising a shared passion for editorial and printed design, we wanted to learn more about the industry and how, as graphic designers graduating in just over one year, we could give ourselves the best possible chance of succeeding in the industry.

Our overall question was ‘What can future graduates expect?’ which we broke down into smaller, sub-questions. We then contacted several working designers, art and creative directors whose work we admire with some or all of these questions where relevant to their practice.

The responses we received were thorough and insightful, and have provided us with a surplus of knowledge for both our university professional practice module and progressing careers in design. This document contains the advice we were given, in full.

- Emma Brown & Fiona Hobson.

Special thanks to:

Tim Beard Kobi Benezri Emily Chicken Alice Cho Karl Tall Adam Guy David Pearson Ben King

Tim Beard

Alongside Jonathon Jeffrey and Mason Wells, UWE alumni Tim Beard is one of three founding members of London based design consultancy ‘Bibliothèque’.

In their own words, Bibliothèque ‘produce effective and captivating design solutions that are underpinned by conceptual thinking, meticulous attention to detail and innovative production.’ www.bibliothequedesign.com

As a graphic designer graduating in 2014, which skills and experiences are required/can give a competitive edge when applying for a first job in editorial design?

Talent, Ideas and enthusiasm. We want to see well crafted thinking, which extends beyond the requirements of the brief. Well crafted executions, with focus on details.

And well presented and articulated work, explained with enthusiasm and passion.

An understanding of the current design landscape, with regard to the company you are visiting always helps let an interviewer know that you have put more effort in, than the next person.

How could somebody progress from a junior design role to art director?

With small steps. It takes a long process of learning first, to move to a role such as art director. I felt that I didn’t start learning about design, until I left college. Put yourself in a position where you admire those around you, and listen to what they have to say. Then over time you will gain the skills, work on a range of projects and move forward with your career.

How varied is the work you do at Bibliothèque?

Very. Our wide range of clients require us to work across many areas of design, from branding to packaging, spatial to digital and retail to publishing. This experience has enabled us to provide fully integrated solutions across an array of business sectors.

How much of the content do you gather yourself?

We obviously expect a client to provide content, after the briefing process for us to work with.

However you will be surprised how many times a creative solutions requires you to generate content yourself. This may be then supplemented by the client, but its always about going the extra mile, to realise an idea in your vision. And if this means creating content, then so be it.

How much of the design process do you contribute to? For example, are you involved with choosing paper stock and/ or binding, etc.?

Every single stage. Bibliothèque is a team of people, and we all input throughout the design process. A Director will lead a project, with support from the other designers, but its an open environment where anyone can input on a project if they have a thought.

Is there a sense of conformity in editorial design? If so, do you feel this is a reflection of the current design climate of digital media dominance? Do you think editorial design could become edgier?

I think it depends on the type of editorial

design you are looking at.

There is conformity, if you look in conformist places, but if you search harder there is a rich source of great editorial design.

And digital media has bought new capabilities and excitement to the world of editorial design.

But we are still suckers for a nice bit of print.

Kobi Benezri

Kobi studied graphic design at the Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design in Jerusalem and completed his studies at the Cooper Union School of Art in New York.

His design history boasts roles for Phaidon Press, New York Times magazine, Moving Brands and art director at i-D magazine. www.kobibenezri.com

As a Graphic Designer graduating in 2014, which skills and experiences are required/can give a competitive edge when applying for a first job in editorial design?

I think that laying out a magazine is no special skill. You need to understand the macros and micros of typography and have a good sense of shape and color. If you really want to work in editorial - you need to acquire editorial skills - not only design skills - you will need to understand and think like an editor yourself and have your say on the magazine’s content, not only its appearance.

The other thing is art direction - the more you work with photographers, the more you build a sense of who you trust. I personally like to find the photographers I believe in, give them my thoughts and let them run the show in photoshoots rather than order them what to do. From my experience, the results are much better that way.

In a job where a publication has an established style, how much creative input do you have?

Well, I might not be the person to answer this, since I started working on I.D. with a redesign, and the work I did for W magazine and Cahiers du CinÊma were both redesign pitches (both unrealized in the end). I would think that there is always room for changes in a magazine, and that is why I believe a designer should also act as an editor in some ways. If a magazine’s content is subjective - the design should be the same.

How much of the design process do you contribute to? For example, are you involved with choosing paper stock

“I believe a designer should also act as an editor in some ways. If a magazine’s content is subjective the design should be the same.”

and/or binding, etc?

It depends on the publishing house and the production budgets. When you redesign a magazine, you should be in a position to suggest a new format, new paper stock, printing techniques, printers, binders, separators, etc. But it doesn’t always happen - a publisher can say they already have contracts with this and that.. if you have the freedom to do this - you should control every detail.

Is there a sense of conformity in editorial design? If so, do you feel this is a reflection of the current design climate of digital media dominance? Do you think editorial design could become edgier?

Magazines need to sell subscriptions and advertising. Readers and advertisers demand things that are a reflection of current media but that’s the state of the publishing industry, and not necessarily editorial design. If you’re edgy enough - people will notice, and depending on the niche you’re in - readers and advertisers will either love it or hate it.

I say it’s worth trying whatever you believe in, and only you will be able to tell whether it was good or not. A printed magazine is a product that needs to be finalized before you know whether it works or not. When redesigning I.D. we learned over a period

of almost a year, what we need to improve from issue to issue, because we could not see the result until we had the actual product in our hands. With a digital publication you can be quicker.

Emily Chicken

Freelance designer Emily Chicken makes books, magazines, branding identity, packaging, websites and occasionally record sleeves.

She has worked with many notable companies including H&M, Wiley Books, MTV, Guardian Books and was previously senior designer at Black Dog Publishing. www.emilychicken.co.uk

As a Graphic Designer graduating in 2014, which skills and experiences are required/can give a competitive edge when applying for a first job in editorial design?

I didnt apply for editorial design as my first job. My first job was working for a fashion photographer, which involved assisting on 16 hour day shoots, and I didnt get paid. It was the most wonderful - if surreal experience... think an 18 year old me doing test shots at 3 in the morning whilst Gisele Bundchen jumps about in a bikini surrounded by huge balloons, just to give you an example! At the time my parents were horrified I was working for nothing! But it was worth it and to this day I am thankful for the doors that have opened as a result of all that hard work. I can highly reccommend doing an internship or two, for which I am very sorry to say may not be paid well, if at all. Then after a year or so interning, you will have less uni work in your portfolio and more real world work. I think a lot of it is down to luck, being in the right place at the right time to be honest with you, especially as a young designer in London. There are tons and tons of design graduates that spill out of universities so you need something to set you apart from everyone else. Spending time honing your skills and ensuring that you have the best possible portfolio is a must.

Also being friendly and nice in an interview is key. You need to make the company feel like this is the only job you are applying for.

You need to make your portfolio relevant and think in advance of how your work will be transferrable to a job where you are applying.

Also, think of a few questions in advance to ask at the end!

How could someone progress from a junior design role to art director?

Hard work and lots of it. And patience.

“There are tons and tons of design graduates that spill out of universities so you need something to set you apart from everyone else.�

How much editorial content do you gather yourself?

Depends completely on the job. But generally you have an author or a publisher who is commissioning you to do the book and whilst your opinion on what content looks good is generally encouraged, you generally dont have the final say.

Is there a sense of conformity in editorial design? If so, do you feel this is a reflection of the current design climate of digital media dominance? Do you think editorial design could become edgier?

Not at all! Depends on the publishers. Some are edgier than others. Some are more encouraging when it comes to risk taking.

But you always need to think about how your book will be seen in 10 20 30 years time.

You dont want to do anything too wacky that wont stand the test of time. Also theres a lot to be said for the design supporting the content rather than overtaking it.

Alice Cho

Alice currently resides as art director at Wired Magazine.

She has previously worked as a designer at Print magazine and has provided Illustration and design for Blender magazine. www.alicecho.net

As a Graphic Designer graduating in 2014, which skills and experiences are required/can give a competitive edge when applying for a first job in editorial design?

Of course, having a good design eye is important, but I think enthusiasm and willingness to learn are just as important qualities. When I am looking to hire junior designer/new grads, I am not expecting the most polished, cutting edge design work—that would be a nice bonus, but we all understand that new grads have to start somewhere and probably don’t have a huge body of highly developed work yet. I am more excited about designers who are up for any challenge, are proactive, and eager to learn from those around him/her. Hard work and a proactive approach go a long way.

In a job where a publication has an established style, how much creative input do you have?

There are plenty of opportunities for creative input even if the publication has a specific style. You may want to find a publication that fits with your own personal style so that you feel a stronger connection with your work and may find even more opportunities for creative contributions.

How much of the design process do you contribute to? For example, are you involved with choosing paper stock and/ or binding, etc?

For Print magazine, I did not have much input into the paper stock and binding— much of that is controlled by budget. With most larger magazines, there is not a lot of flexibility in terms of paper and format

because those factors are so influenced by costs, irrespective of the designers’ personal preferences.

Is there a sense of conformity in editorial design? If so, do you feel this is a reflection of the current design climate of digital media dominance?

Do you think editorial design could become edgier?

No, I don’t think there is a sense of onformity in editorial design, and if there was, I don’t think it’d have to do with the influence of digital media. There are always opportunities for editorial design to become more adventurous and bring something new to readers.

Karl Tall

UWE alumni Karl Tall currently resides as senior designer in licenced design at major publisher Parragon, and is a freelance designer under the pseudonym ‘F7 Creative’. www.f7creative.co.uk

As a graphic designer graduating in 2014, which skills and experiences are required/can give a competitive edge when applying for a first job in editorial design?

Editorial design is going through a huge revolution at the moment. With epub, app design, online etc in addition to traditional print-based publishing the role of the editorial designer is already changing at a fast pace. However, the first thing we look for in a designer of any level is creativity. Whenever we get CVs through for positions it’s the creativity of a person’s work that catches the eye, and creates most excitement. Of course, skills in all the main applications – the relevant Adobe Suite for the position you’re going for – are important too, and if two highly creative designers went for the same job the one with the skills will get the position, but we employ creatives to be creative, and we can teach skills to the right person if needed.

For our print teams we look for Indesign as most important, followed by Photoshop and Illustrator, then Acrobat. Any other skills are a bonus, although increasingly a knowledge or understanding of HTML/CSS/XML will become key. Any relevant experience is also good – employment history, work experience etc. is great, but this would come after creativity and skills.

How could somebody progress from a junior design role to art director?

Progressing up the levels of design is usually based upon improvement in skills, better commercial understanding, leadership skills and general industry experience. Sometimes a designer’s creativity is good enough on

“The key is understanding your market, which comes with experience – creating a dark and edgy Disney Princess book would result in lost revenue.”

its own to warrant promotion, but usually it’s a combo of creativity and one of the previously mentioned skills areas. Experience for a more senior level is also important, as it’s about dealing with greater pressure, more responsibility and management of other members of staff. As a senior designer I’m responsible for my own work, the overall output of the team, trends and ranges as well as the welfare of team members, their progression and any training they may need.

How varied is the work you do at Parragon?

In the licensed team we work on a range of formats – storybooks, activity books, packages of different content as well as point of sale material. We don’t as yet work across digital titles, as our licenses preclude this – this is likely to change in the near future – but we do get to work closely with designers, artists and editors at places like Disney and Nickelodeon. Working with someone in LA presents its own challenges!

How much of the content do you gather yourself?

Content is primarily provided by the licensor (our childrens’ dept. creates/sources 100%

of their own, same with adult and cookery) but we are also moving now into developing brand new content, using freelance artists and illustrators.

In addition we create a lot of additional graphics for certain ranges, and have a lot of control over the design and feel of our titles. However the brand is key, so Disney, Mattel or Nickelodeon will always have a big say in creative direction.

Karl Tall

In a job where a publication has an established style, how much creative input do you have?

Established styles generally give you a rigid framework, which can sometimes be challenging. But no style lasts forever, so when a refresh is needed the designer has the chance to set a look that can last from 6 titles to 60 – so in that instance it’s a very creative task – one that you don’t want to get wrong!

How much of the design process do you contribute to? For example, are you involved with choosing paper stock and/ or binding, etc.?

Most publishers will have buying packages set up with printers – creating a larger buying volume, so cheaper prices. However, we always try not to shoe horn a design or title into a format – where we feel it’s required we will always have the option of discussing the spec. We also try and push the production dept. with new formats, new finishes and new techniques – creativity isn’t limited to the graphics.

Is there a sense of conformity in editorial design? If so, do you feel this is a reflection of the current design climate of digital media dominance? Do you think editorial design could and/or should become edgier?

All design has to be fit for purpose. If the end user requires a conservative feel to a book or magazine, presenting an edgy, brooding title will ultimately have a negative effect on sales and profitability. The key is understanding your market, which comes with experience – creating a dark and edgy

Disney Princess book would result in lost revenue, whereas creating that feel for Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles would be on brand. Often creative designers, especially more junior designers, make the mistake of wanting to express themselves through their work – the key is to express the character within the editorial. It’s why most of us draw 24/7 in our own time – that’s the role art has for any creative. However, if your affinity for the title you’re working on really clicks, designing for that title feels very much like self expression and this often leads to great design. Digital media dominance has given us new platforms to design for – conformity often happens when a creative team misunderstands their role, and designs to a limited understanding of the possibilities, or else fails to design within acceptable tolerances for a certain media.

We like to see it as our role to push the envelope and challenge the sales teams, whereas teir role is often applying the brakes. Somewhere in between is where successful design creates commercial success.

Adam Guy

Adam currently resides at Feed Magazine as creative director.

He is also the owner and creative director of ‘We Make Art’, a group of freelance graphic designers, educationalists, artists and writers that collaborate on a multitude of different briefs from film and animation to print publications and branding work. www.wemakeart.com

As a Graphic Designer graduating in 2014, which skills and experiences are required/can give a competitive edge when applying for a first job in editorial design?

Experience! Get lots of. Well read, read everything. Amazing type skills. Understand the rules of grids and then break them. More experience! Make your own zines.

In a job where a publication has an established style, how much creative input do you have?

Very little but one has to start somewhere.

How much of the design process do you contribute to? For example, are you involved with choosing paper stock and/ or binding, etc?

If you work somewhere good you should be involved in all aspects. Don’t be pushy but don’t be to laid back on helping and giving your ideas.

Is there a sense of conformity in editorial design? If so, do you feel this is a reflection of the current design climate of digital media dominance? Do you think editorial design could become edgier?

Good question. Semiotics is a playground.

Editorial design is like album cover design.

Have fun - don’t go too mad but layout the pages in away that you feel is right. We all conform but we can still have freedom. Don’t forget that being a Graphic Designer is an applied art form. Clients rule!

David Pearson

A London-based freelancer, David specialises as a book designer and typographer.

David previously spent five years as a designer at Penguin Books, and his work has achieved many prestigious design awards including three D&AD Yellow Pencils. www.davidpearsondesign.com

As a graphic designer graduating in 2014, which skills and experiences are required or can give a competitive edge when applying for a first job in book design?

Obviously you come out of college with a portfolio that, if you’re looking to get into book design or book cover design for example, needs to be well rounded. It doesn’t even necessarily have to have lots of book related work in it. The thing with book covers is you need to be quite versatile in many ways; you need to be quite good at coming up with ideas, so a portfolio which shows your ability to create ideas and design solutions that have a concept really helps.

Also if you have any experience of working with other people - let’s say an illustrator or painter - the sense of that collaborative process can be really helpful because that’s something you do a hell of a lot of if you are working on book covers, so that’s a really big one. Also, when you’re a book designer you probably have a few books on the go at any one time. If you can show that you’ve got good time management skills, that goes a long way. But ultimately I think you’ve just got to show that you’re passionate about the industry, know about it and show people you really want to be part of it. Quite often when you look at or talk to people that are looking to get into the industry, but are also looking at getting into several other industries, that comes across a little bit. So if you can show that you’re willing to go into a really specific area, that can really gather a lot of confidence in whoever’s talking to you, or looking at your work. A bit of work experience can help, but I think sometimes people do a bit too much of it. Ultimately you just want to see good work in a portfolio and then you really hit the jackpot when you meet

someone and they’re nice as well; so that’s really who you need to be. But of course a work placement somewhere would be helpful. As long as the experience is an extension of your skills or is in an area that you’re interested in or you want to learn from, then you can almost do it anywhere. But if you wanted to get into book design then working in a smaller publishing house where you’ve got more responsibility would translate really well; don’t necessarily go after the big ones where you could get a little bit lost - they might just have you packing envelopes or something crap. If you go for a smaller, more independent publisher, you’ll probably learn a lot more about the industry from the top to the bottom.

So you would say that a strong portfolio and passion for design would be more important than experience?

Absolutely. The passion thing is really important and it’s amazing going through all the emails I get where they’ve clearly sent the email to me and loads of other people as well – it’s not tailored to you in any way.

You need to get a sense of someone really wanting to be part of your industry, to have

fire in their belly and be willing to learn. No matter what age you are, you need to be quite wideeyed and willing to learn and I think that that’s a trait that only the best designers have; up until the day they retire they almost have a child-like response to the world. They’re very open to ideas and they see the joy in what they do - those people are very easy to hire, trust me.

David Pearson

How could somebody progress from being a junior designer to an art director?

You’re asking the wrong person there! I was a junior designer the whole time I was at Penguin, so I never quite figured that one out. But I left and became a freelance designer and ultimately an art designer for various different companies from afar, so that was kinda the way to do it for me.

That’s quite common in book design – you can be an art director but not in-house.

So for example, I’m an art director for a French publisher and for an Italian one and an English one so it’s quite strange but all you’re really doing is managing a body of work and you have a staple of illustrators and designers that you send the work out to and you manage it that way. But I never quite got the technical promotion. Who knows how to do that! The great thing about penguin is it’s such a good company that no-one leaves, so it’s actually quite hard to rise up the ranks.

How varied was the work that you did for Penguin?

The great thing about that place is that, when I was working in-house, they very much keep you working in one form; so you’re a cover designer and that’s what you do. They protect you from all the other things you could be doing so you’re nice and productive at that one thing. I think that led to a slight amount of frustration in that I wanted to learn about the psychology of the business and have meetings with Amazon and all those sorts of things. I wanted to know why things needed to look a certain way, and I wanted to see and do all of those things and learn about how to do them. So ultimately it was good that they put you in a

box, but it led to frustration later which I had to find my way around as a freelancer. Now I am involved with things from the top down in the business so I can learn more about the process of publishing, but I do less handson cover design than I did when I was at Penguin. I think when you get older you want to do that; naturally you want to be more diverse and you want to do this and that and flex your mental muscles. So that was what it was like for me but everyone’s different I suppose. The great thing about a design job is that it changes all of the time. It’s brilliant; you’re never bored. You’re always looking for new challenges and new jobs. You develop along with your work.

Would Penguin not allow you to get involved with anything else at all?

They allowed me to work on all sorts of things but essentially you would never be involved in editorial decisions, production or the department that dealt with the printers, for example. And if ever you asked for a special finish or something to make the book feel nice, you had to go through a department that were basically there to say no to a designer so that you’d save money or manage the budget; that to me seems really strange because it’s like saying that the tactile aspect of the book is different to the design, whereas now I feel it’s the same thing and that’s because I’m allowed to do both. That was one of the frustrations, in that you weren’t allowed to break out that bit more. But again I totally understand that because you are there to be as productive as possible as a book cover designer, so they don’t want you spending half a day sourcing a rare cloth from Italy or something like that.

That moves us on nicely to my next question actually; how much of the design process were you able to contribute to? Did you have a say in the binding or choosing the paper stock, or was that completely out of your hands?

I think only if I was very, very forthright and had a very strong idea would I get to have a say in the all-round feel of the book.

Within reason you’d get to propose certain finishes, the paper stock and thickness of the cover board, but they were also determined by budget constraints. In the case of ‘Great Ideas’ they had very nice paper but they only because I didn’t spend any money elsewhere; they weren’t finished and they only had one colour so you kinda have to play the game a little bit.

But it’s a great way to learn how to do all this stuff because you’re dealing with very tight budget constraints and it was kinda fun in a way. I think it’s really difficult when you’re given a free hand or a free reign isn’t it? If you can have anything, what do you focus on, what do you go with?

It’s really hard.

David Pearson

So it’s mainly the budget that determines the finish of a book?

Yeah, it usually is. I think it’s different with Whites books; we can spend loads of money on the finishes because we’re a small company. We haven’t got any overheads so we can spend more money than Penguin on the way the book feels and looks which is sort of ironic if you consider how little money we’ve got to play with, but it can only be channelled in the right way if you see what I mean; we haven’t got to pay for distribution or publicity, we just kinda do it off our own back. So there are all sorts of ways of getting a quality finish but ultimately you are paying for them in a way. If you typeset a whole book really beautifully, essentially you’re paying for actually doing it yourself – it’s taking you a long time, and it’s time that you’re spending not doing other things.

So again, a single person can do that but Penguin can’t because they would lose so much money. It’s kinda beautiful in a way that the small, start-up publisher can make the most beautiful books in the world.

Would you say you prefer working for a smaller publisher ?

I wouldn’t say prefer, I just think each job brings its own challenges. I’m at Penguin at the minute, working on a set of George Orwell covers and that’s great, I’m really enjoying that. But then similarly, I might do something for a friend and it will be just as enjoyable but in very different ways. I think the great thing about book cover design is that every job you do, there’s another one just around the corner. It’s great for that, it keeps self-regulating.

So you would have more than one cover on the go at any one time?

Oh God yeah, there’s usually about eight on the go, it’s crazy.

How long do you generally have to spend on each one?

It varies all the time. The usual schedule is two weeks to get from reading the book to the first design. Sometimes you have four weeks when it’s good. Then after the first showing you’ll probably have to do a couple of revisions or there’ll be some new designs, so the whole process could take maybe two to three months from reading the book to actually going off to the printer. So you do have to have several of these things on the go at one time. It makes sense financially.

Do you think editorial designers are playing it safe with printed design as a result of the current digital media dominance?

I think there can be an element of that on the one hand, but on the other hand you’re going to get some people that are thinking ‘why are we printing this thing at all?’ so they might think ‘if we are going to print it, let’s really go for it, make it fully-justifiable as a physical object and really make it beautiful.’ So you get that kind of reaction on the one hand, and on the other hand you get people that say ‘books are dying anyway, let’s just make them all really cheap - there’s no market there anyway’ which obviously is the very worst thing you could do because it will kill them off quicker than they ever would have anyway. In a positive sense, I think we were producing too many books a year anyway.

All sorts of crap was getting produced

just so the shareholders could say that they had a profit each year. I’m quite glad to see a lot of those very boring, rubbish books disappear, you know, that’s a good thing. I like that people now have to think much harder about what they throw out into the world in terms of these physical objects. You only have to go and look at the art book world and how it’s really flourishing and how many startup publishers there are now and how many people care so much that they want to start up and do it themselves and do it right. All those things are really positive and really inspiring. And you know, it’s easy to do. It’s a lovely way of passing the time.

So would you say it’s almost a case of quality over quantity?

Yeah, definitely. I mean, you’re kinda screwed the minute you get shareholders with any business, but you have to make profit every single year so how do you do that? Do you get rid of lots of staff? Or do you make the paper cheaper? You tend to make the paper cheaper. I think that’s not something you necessarily have to think of if you’re a small publisher working out of someone’s back bedroom.

Ben King

As art director at Print Magazine, Ben has a wealth of experience in editorial design and has previously worked for The New York Times and Pentagram. www.brknyc.com

As a Graphic Designer graduating in 2014, which skills and experiences are required/can give a competitive edge when applying for a first job in editorial design?

I think the biggest advantage you can have as a new graduate is versatility. While you may have a focus in your design career (be it editorial design, print design, identities, etc), little of the design profession is so narrow anymore. In New York, many young designers wishing to work on magazines find themselves working on the iPad edition of a magazine, which requires a knowledge of interactive design techniques. Of course, equally as valuable is to take the time to do internships and work with seasoned designers to get valuable experience in professional settings. Other than that, a relentless work ethic, patience with yourself and your work, a willingness to continue learning, and persistence help a great deal.

In a job where a publication has an established style, how much creative input do you have?

I think that varies a great deal from publication to publication. Moreover, that would vary from client to client (in a studio practice). For most magazines, there is an established grid, style, and typography.

However, there is typically a great deal of flexibility within these systems that allow for more “creative” solutions. This is especially true of the feature stories found in most magazines (for example, Mark Porter’s design for G2 has a very rigid system for the front and back of the magazine, but you’ll see that the feature stories vary widely in their execution). Of course, in the case of

larger/quicker publications (ie. The Guardian), design flexibility is much more minimal, and is typically expressed in the art direction of illustration and photo selection. The notable exemption from that rule is the Op-Ed section of the New York Times, which has been known to be a little more playful with the typography and layout of articles.

Is there a sense of conformity in editorial design? If so, do you feel this is a reflection of the current design climate of digital media dominance? Do you think editorial design could become edgier?

In a very broad sense, yes. However, I feel like that’s party a reflection on the medium.

There are very established rules and mores around the structure of a magazine, and many designers look to each other for inspiration. There is quite a bit of “edgy” design happening in editorial design though. But, then, I suppose that has a bit to do with how you define “edgy,” as well.

Magazines like IL (art directed by Franseco Franchi), Bloomberg Businessweek, Port, G2, Surface, among others are doing incredibly interesting things in the design and packaging of their stories.