On the Stands: the New Dwell Magazine
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01.22.08
We noticed changes in the works a while back- interesting and talented people, like Geoff Manough of BLDGBLOG and Sarah Rich of Inhabitat and Worldchanging (and others from prefabland who we can't confirm) were showing up for work at Dwell, leaving the pixel-land for the dead tree world. It seemed like inauspicious timing; with the shelter market crashing, whither shelter mags?
Dwell certainly is investing in the future and it's a greener one- new slender proportions to reduce paper use and soy-based inks and a complete redesign, right down to the typeface of the masthead, by Kyle Blue. Publisher Michela O'Connor Abrams told the San Francisco Chronicle : "These changes are completely in step with our driving philosophy that great design is sustainable design," the magazine had been looking for high-quality recycled paper stock for some time, she says. Abrams confirms that the recycled paper costs more but "because we need less of it thanks to the new size, we just reinvest those savings to cover the higher cost."
But what about the content?
Here it is still a work in progress. The new "In the modern world" and "houses we love" almost appear to be print imitating blog, with pictures, but tidbits of information or in the case of the houses, no information at all unless you go online. I don't think that works in print.
The story, Lucky's break, is interesting but the house is not particularly; other modern houses shown (like Dieter Van Everbroeck 's Ghent house) were interesting but not without issues if one is wrapping your magazine around the concept of sustainability. The green end of the issue is held up by the talented UK writer Iain Aitch who updates Foster's Oxley Woods project (TreeHugger here)
So I love the look and the new proportions, the green printing and much of the layout, and look forward to gifts inside that are as exciting as the wrapper in future editions. ::Dwell
To me it just seems like a printing of several blogs on a laser printer. Lots of randomness and poor fonts. The old format was a masterpiece. The old wide format was much more enjoyable and luxurious. If you are going to print make it tactile and worth holding on to. Most is the new Dwell could be presented in a beefed up website.
I guess we can understand since they are from the blogging worId, but hello this is a magazine. I hope the redesign the redesign!
Honestly, I got a copy of that magazine, and the article on the "ecohat" was uninformative. No photos show whether the large sloped surface has a solar panel, nor explain how they intend to heat water using hot air, which is the impression I got. (Air has a low heat capacity, and in any case, would have to be exceedingly hot to be effective for heating water.)
I allowed my subscription to dwell lapse recently. Rather than being a resource on how to live stylishly in a green manner, it was all about conspicuous consumption and the notion that good design always cost an arm and a leg. If I want to feel inadequate or lust for material possessions, I don't need to be green-abased as well.
Having just gone through a major redesign at American Craft magazine (http://www.americancraftmag.org/index.php) ourselves, I can tell you that changes take time to gain traction. Having worked with both Sam Grawe (Dwell EIC) and Kyle Blue (Dwell creative director) I know that there will be some fantastic things in store in the future...so keep looking and give it some time...
However, the thing that I find most interesting in all of this - particularly from the TreeHugger angle - is the question of "recycled paper." When we went through our redesign, we opted to go with becoming certified by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Counicl, http://www.fscus.org/) rather than using recycled paper because there is such a huge question mark as to whether or not recycled paper is any better for the environment at all. In fact, many claim that it is actually worse for the environment due to the extensive energy consumption needed to convert recycled paper back into a print-ready usable form.
There is a dearth of information on this topic and I would love to see more. TreeHugger, maybe you are the ones to bring it to us!?!?