You guys know at this stage that I live online. It’s my job and I love it. But when i’m not working I still find myself online in one form or another. Whether it’s reading blog posts, writing blog posts, stalking on Facebook, doing tutorials, playing games, researching recipes, listening to music etc, it’s all done online. I often wonder what our lives would be like without this all seeing all knowledgeable tool. Would I be sitting alone in a silent room doodleing to myself?
Honestly, what i’d most like to be doing if the internet was not around, is reading. I must admit, there is nothing better than the smell of a freshly printed magazine. Hi gloss magazines to be specific. I’m sure it’s slightly toxic, but it’s one of my favourite smells. And at the moment there are some cracking creative magazines around the place. (And yes they all smell fab). The good thing about design magazines is that you won’t run out of battery, it won’t get your bag searched going through the airport, and you can pretty much take it anywhere without the risk of losing 600 quids worth of equipment.
Here’s a few that you might be interested in checking out. And yes, most of these are available to read online or on the iPad, but where’s the fun if you can’t smell the inspiration? You can buy each of these magazines in your local newsagent.
Emerging from the formidable history of MacDesign magazine, Layers‘ ongoing aspiration is to equip creative minds with the up-to-the-minute tools they need to build the digital masterpieces of tomorrow.
Every page of Layers magazine is brimming with powerhouse tutorials for Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, GoLive, Acrobat, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Dreamweaver and Flash – all the secret Adobe techniques that design professionals need to quickly and easily produce dazzling results.
.Net is one of the leading magazines for design and web development. It has a balance of interesting features and news, as well as troubleshooting articles for software like CSS, PHP, Flash and JavaScript. It also features tutorials from leading agencies, interviews with the web’s biggest names, and agenda-setting features on the hottest issues affecting the Internet today.
This fortnightly magazine focuses on visual culture and design. It documents and critiques commercial, social and environmental design. Print also studies and critiques newspapers and book covers as well as Web-based motion graphics, corporate branding and indie-rock posters. It’s a great source of inspiration and if you’re feeling creative, they run some great competitions for all levels of designer.
This monthly magazine showcases some of the best contemporary advertising, design, illustration, digital media, photography and typography. The front covers are always stunning so you’ll never find it hard to spot on the shelf. The aim of Creative Review is to inspire, inform and stimulate debate among its readers in all fields of visual communication worldwide.
Computer Arts, is a magazine for digital artists and designers. Every month boasts a strong line-up of tutorials covering everything from manipulating photographs with Photoshop to creating amazing vector illustrations with Illustrator. It really is a must read and will look amazing on your coffee table.
