Worth: The Evolution of Financial Intelligence. There are two aspects to this article. Firstly the design - which was actually enticing enough to make me not only grab a copy and flip through it, but to then purchase it at its pricey 20$ price tag to further dive into its Monocle sized uncoated/matte velum glossy covered magazine and take pictures to share its interesting layout/design choices with you. So on the next page you’ll find many examples of some of my favorite visual details of this recently updated magazine.

The second aspect is the business of it ~ as you’ll see in the video and press releases from just a few months ago, this 18 year old magazine title was acquired by Sandow Media (of LUXE and New Beauty) in 2008 ~ and only 2 issues ago completely redesigned. Not only in look and feel, but also focus and revenue model. In a time where we are watching magazines close monthly, print dinosaurs falter, and online advertising still finding its legs (at least conceptually!) ~ Worth magazine has taken on an interesting concept lead by publisher Patrick Williams (from the Economist and Conde Nast’s Portfolio - which while also beautiful and infographic heavy, didn’t last long): “The Worth Leading Wealth Advisor Program” where essentially they have wealth advisors underwriting the profits of the magazine by having them thoroughly vetted, and if accepted they pay for an opportunity to write articles for the magazine and have 100 copies to distribute (to their clients and potential Worth future readers?). This is in addition to their advertisements as a revenue stream… and their bold move not to allow subscriptions (unless you are considered a high net worth reader and happen upon a free subscription), the only way to acquire Worth is to pay their $18.95 cover price. And Patrick even says in the Bloomberg interview that “We want to be known as the 20 buck magazine, which makes us the most expensive magazine in America.” Funny thing is when i first landed on their site, the most surprising usability issue i encountered was not being able to find a subscribe button, usually they are huge, flashing, or begging you to click them on magazine sites. I guess not being allowed to subscribe will make some want it even more…?

Business aside. Its a gorgeous magazine, and i am quite intrigued by their layouts and typographic decisions. The paper also feels stunning to hold in your hand, and it’s quite an interesting read… awaiting future issues to see if it holds up. Oh, and i’m smitten by the fact that they have lovely Object of Desire pages. See pics on the next page ~ as well as the Bloomberg video.

TO PAGE 2 of "Worth Magazine: Redesign"! ----->

Tags: business - infographics - magazines - paper - print - typography

NOTCOT Note: Here is another post continuing on Justine's (aka RUGenius') adventures in Sheffield, it took a bit of researching, but she's come back to me with some MIND BLOWING infographics from Stephanie Posavec, you definitely need to click on the images after the jump to see them in full resolution where you can see what every curve and color represents. I kid you not, you will not see Kerouac's On The Road the same again...

During my recent trip up to Sheffield, I was fortunate enough to be staying next door to the Millennium Galleries, who hosted a portion of the citywide Art Sheffield event. Among the exhibits, was one called "On the Map" (more info here as well), which uses craft and design to understand the symbolic and representative nature of maps. Works included a dress made of maps, numerous old maps of London, a gorgeous Kerr | Noble representation of the River Thames through graphic design and the words of the John Banck's Description of London. Seen here:

However, the works that caught my eyes was that of Stefanie Posavec. Stefanie's maps capture something above and beyond that of the others. Rather than mapping physical geography, her maps capture regularities and patterns within a literary space. The pieces featured in On the Map focused on Kerouac's On the Road. The maps visually represent the rhythm and structure of Kerouac's literary space, creating works that are not only gorgeous from the point of view of graphic design, but also exhibit scientific rigor and precision in their formulation: meticulous scouring the surface of the text, highlighting and noting sentence length, prosody and themes, Posavec's approach to the text is not unlike that of a surveyor. And similarly, the act is near reverential in its approach and the results are stunning graphical displays of the nature of the subject. The literary organism, rhythm textures and sentence drawings are truly gorgeous pieces. It's not often that I am so thoroughly impressed by the depth of an artist's work, but somehow, for me, these pieces do it all. I know, who would've thought I'd have stumbled upon such incredible work in the gallery across from our hotel in Sheffield! It just goes to show the world is full of surprises.

High-res images below not to be missed!

TO PAGE 2 of "Stefanie Posavec "On the Map""! ----->

Tags: art - books - infographics - travel