Once a month we invite our member magazine publishers and enthusiasts to guest-edit our fortnightly email newsletter. The aim is to inspire others with magazine-related content, connect members and build our community so we can learn from each other.
This month our guest editor is graphic design professional Brett Weekes. You can follow Brett on LinkedIn – remember to connect and say hello!
Tell us about yourself
I’m a multidisciplinary graphic designer with experience across a range of industries, and a particular love for publication design. Over the years, I’ve worked on projects for clients from small boutique agencies up to wide reaching multichannel national advertising campaigns. Six months ago, I decided to make the jump and transitioned into full-time freelancing. During that time, I’ve have had the opportunity to work with a diverse variety of clients on print, digital, marketing and illustration projects. At the end of 2024 I had the privilege to work with the team at one of my favourite publishers on a fantastic artbook which will be released in the first half of 2025.
Members receive their first 5 Ikon Images illustration uses for £50 each
What’s the best article you’ve
read this month?
I had the pleasure of meeting Zuzana Kvetková at the 2024 Magazine Street and chatted about her magazine Backstage Talks. I picked up a copy of Issue 8 recently and love the whole thing! It’s hard to pick one article.
The issue’s theme of “Keep Going!” feels very relevant to me right now, having started full-time freelancing six months ago. Near the end of the first article (On Patience) Katarína Poliačiková asks the question “What is patience? To give things time they need, even though you don’t know how much time is enough time”. There is a lot of uncertainty starting a freelance business and an impatience to be past that uncertainty. This article helps me realise that I might not be past that uncertainty, but I’m on the way. Every other article in the magazine is similarly engaging, and the Sisyphean illustration on the cover is fantastic.
Show us an incredible magazine cover
A magazine cover that has stuck in my brain over the years is the cover to issue 7 of alternative comics magazine RAW from the ‘80s, edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly. The cover is by one of my favourite artists, Gary Panter. The cover features a collage illustration by Panter of some torn up images pasted together. What makes it unforgettable is that the publishers decided to tear the top right corners off the finished magazine and tape them back into the inside cover.
There’s an interview with Françoise Mouly from the time explaining that when they took this idea to their print supplier they were totally perplexed by the idea! This cover is equal parts experimental, self-sabotaging and outlandish. They intentionally mixed up all the corners so that they didn’t match the magazine they were taped back into! I’ve considered suggesting something similar to this with a couple of projects over the years but know it could only ever be a gimmicky imitation of the original. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love it.
What’s your top tip for publishers?
My top tip for publishers is to be aware of the concerns that creatives face in the burgeoning age of generative AI. I’m referring to visual creatives here (e.g. designers, illustrators, photographers) but in a broader sense it applies to just about anyone working in a creative profession (e.g. writers, musicians, videographers).
I’m not trying to be preachy and recognise that just about everyone reading this has thought about and considered the issue before, but I think it’s always worth bringing attention to. Some of the concerns facing creatives include the safety of copyright and intellectual property, loss of artistic authenticity, over-dependence on technology, job displacement / economic impact and the many ethical concerns around these issues.
The past couple of years have seen some amazing advances in what generative AI can achieve, and those advances keep moving forward. Many programs and apps now include AI features, including generative AI abilities in artworking programs and websites. To put it briefly, these generative AI features reference massive datasets of images and other types of information to create the outputted results. One of the main concerns is what content / information these programs and apps are using in their datasets and where it has been sourced from.
Large companies, like industry standard Adobe, have had to clarify their position on the content they use for their generative AI features after concerns were raised that user content created in their programs was being used indiscriminately. Many of the big players (including Adobe) make it clear that they use copyright free content and content that they own, but there are so many smaller and new players popping up it’s hard to keep track. It is always important for the end-user (i.e. everyone) to check and be aware of the content retention / use practises of the programs and apps they use to keep things fair and ethical in the long run.
In essence, there are countless skilled and talented creatives out there – humans crafting thoughtful, personalised work through human processes. Keep supporting them while staying mindful of the impact a convenient tool might have on their work and livelihoods.
Questions for the community
What subject or issue would you like the International Magazine Centre Members Group to discuss and untangle over on LinkedIn?
My question is: What trends should the industry be looking out for in 2025?
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