Alec Dudson:
Domus magazine — Milan
Boat Magazine - http://www.boat-mag.com
Each issue of Boat goes through different cities.
Went out to Athens during riots.
Worked there for 7 months.
Intern Magazine
Fledging studio took on design work.
Kickstarter campaign - Required £5,500 goal.
Transcribed Presentation
‘I decided at the start of last year that I wanted to work in independent magazines. I had been waiting all my life to find something that I was passionate about, which was also a viable career. Having convinced myself to take the gamble, I embarked on a journey into the relative unknown. Over the twelve months that followed, the journey took me to Milan, London and Athens, all the while revealing more and more about this industry that I longed to break into. Twelve months as an intern is a pretty long stretch, not the longest by a good distance, but long enough that the strains of working unpaid begin to take their toll. I consider myself one of the lucky ones, I was able to last it out through the generosity and support of my friends who put roofs over my head. Their charity and altruism allowed for my experience as an intern to be rich and educational, as did the kindness and wisdom of my mentors.
Despite this overwhelmingly positive experience, as the year drew to a close, I was no closer to a paid job in the industry as when I had set out all those months ago. I began considering this concept of a ‘career’ and had seen how the creative industries are full of those for whom a career means freelancing and can be littered with uncertainty. It struck me that there were ways in which people like me could be helped on their quest to get established in their field of expertise.
First and foremost, people need to be exposed to your work in order for them to notice you. Secondly, the culture of internships across the creative industries is one that is not discussed or debated outside or even within them. Wouldn’t it be a lot more helpful if people could get an insight without throwing themselves in at the deep end? It is around these two ideals that intern is built; we want you to meet the talent and join the debate.
Since January of this year I have been working with interns and unpaid workers from across the creative industries to put together a magazine that will show off their immense talent and initiate a debate that is pertinent for those involved in, soon to be involved in or even just curious about those industries. I am also making a stand, whereby every contributor involved in the magazine will be paid. This won’t be as much as these guys will inevitably make in the future but serves hopefully as one of the first in a long line of monetary rewards for their hard work and talent.
This is where you come in Kickstarter, the pieces are slotting into place, most of the features and contributions are ready. I am setting up the business side of the project to ensure that future issues will follow. I just need some help covering the initial print run so that we can get intern magazine Issue One into your hands. As an extension of intern’s ideals, all of our rewards above the £45 threshold are collaborations with our contributors, who will receive a percentage of each contribution which sees their work commissioned. This project is an investment in the future of the creative industries, through nurturing some of the finest talent it looks to support and promote. Through initiating the debate it looks to ensure that the industries reflect on the implications of internships, doing away with complacency and helping to create a situation where creativity is given the freedom required to flourish.’
The magazine has two main aims. The first is to provide a tactile showcase for the precocious talent currently working in these fields unpaid and as interns. Secondly, we are initiating a long overdue and frank debate about the current state of the intern culture, and its potential implications in both the short and long term for the creative industries.
The intention is to empower interns through both facets of the publication. Drawing industry attention to the work of those we feature and existing as a useful resource to those currently involved in or on the precipice of internships are our means of doing so. In order to be effective on any level, intern magazine needs to be accessible; this is reflected in the mix of features that we present, ranging from serious debate to casual observation.
While the creative industries are the focal point of the publication, this is not to suggest that unpaid internships are somehow endemic to them. Far from it. We see these industries as a fascinating case study and our starting point for the debate. If you are at all compelled by the culture of unpaid work then you will find something of interest in our pages.
Issue 1: 144 pages, GF Smith paper.
Tough to make shipping competitive when sending to US or Australia.
Advertising approach: Sponsored companies, with in house designed ads, printed on leaflets.
Task
The task was to come up with a concept for a new independent publication and come up with a Kickstarter campaign that could possibly launch the publication. We were given a sheet with a list of existing independent magazines and a list of categories/genres they fall under as a starting point. On the sheet was also a list of magazine Kickstarter campaigns and how successful they were to aid us in creating a strong Kickstarter.
There were six points to address in the workshop;
Concept
Audience
Aesthetic
Strategy
Lifespan
Progression
We decided to go with the name 'untold' and we all played around a little bit with logotypes.. Whilst I quickly designed the logo and front cover idea, the rest of us the group came up withhow the Kickstarter campaign video would work..
Logotype Ideas
I drafted up a few logotype ideas quickly, which are displayed below. We ended up choosing the idea on the bottom row, centred. This Humanist typeface chosen as we thought it was appropriate to a younger, professional audience, and also those who would be interested in independent magazine.
It is also great for display, so could be used well for headers within the publication.
Front Cover
It was important that the cover reflects our concept that we are using over the entire magazine: The idea of judging someone as a human being, not based on their profession.
A blank, textured stock would be used in front of the cover, with a hole in the middle showing a face. Then, when opened up, a glossy front cover is displayed, also revealing the profession and one of the people being reviewed in the bi-monthly edition.
This would also stand out within a book store, and be intriguing to open.
Below you can see the first edition, based on taxi drivers.
