I miss the era when magazines pushed the limits. In general, that time is gone. A newsstand (albeit a very thin newsstand) full of grid driven formulaic publications. No fluidity. No experimentation. All based on formulas. Maybe it’s a bit of nostalgia, but the print publications of today just don’t push the boundaries on the visual and editorial concept end.

There are magazine formulas. Countless meetings on sales driving cover-lines, theories about placing numbers on the cover to draw female buyers, logo placement for newsstand position. The result is a see of the same. Gone are the days of Raygun, Bikini, Speak, The Face, Plazm, Emigre, and others.

There are some great, clean designs on the newstand. Magazines doing nice things. But there is no wonder going into the next spread. The grid throughout is forced, and typography is predictable. We need a new breed to push the limits. I’m not hoping for another grunge era, or another David Carson. I’m hoping for something that creates an edge. There are still a (very small) handful that fill that void.

One of my current favorites that continues to draw me in is Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope: All-Story. I hesitate to call Zoetrope a magazine as it breaks the mold and contrasts the formulas. This publication of short stories features up-and-coming writers as well as established legends like Coppola, Woody Allen, David Foster Wallace, along Anthony Bourdain. Each issue features a guest designers —and that doesn’t always mean a graphic designer — like Chip Kidd, Lou Reed, Julian Schnabel, Mike Mills, Wim Wenders, David Bowie, Tom Waits, Gus Van Sant. Filmmakers, musicians, artists, designers, the publication has a different visual voice with each issue.

In a stand full of formulas… full of grid driven Helvetica headlines, Zoetrope: All-story is a great departure into a more experimental realm of publication design. You can subscribe online for $24 or pick them up at better news stands and bookstores. I came across Zoetrope for the first time a couple years back, and since then I’ve found each issue to be a refreshing departure from the norm. If you’re looking for a magazine the follows the rules of publication design to a T, you won’t enjoy this, but if you’re looking for something outside the box, pick it up now.

You can check out my previous post on magazines of a another era here.

You can see some of the magazines I’ve designed in the past here.