This post was originally intended to review two magazine spreads, but I wanted to start by saying I am slightly disappointed with Gilt Fuse. From what I can tell, the only difference between Gilt and Gilt Fuse, is that in the latter, the models are all posed like idiots. I think they were going for “edgy and playful” but I’m sorry, an adult (late 20’s even?) model wearing Juicy Couture, blowing a bubble, and yanking on her thigh-high stockings like a schoolgirl in a Brittany Spears video looks like an idiot to me. Ok, moving on.
The pictures below are from a Wired magazine article on Somali piracy. While the content of the article was compelling and well-researched (it was very similar to the ongoing NPR coverage of the same events) it was the unique layout that really grabbed me. I especially liked the little facts boxes and graphs scattered amongst the illustrations – a great example of print media effectively borrowing design elements from the web world.
This next review is less about a particular article and more about the apparent laziness of a few fashion photographers and magazine editors. All of these ads appeared in the first half (the prime half) of my August issues of Elle and Lucky. I find it incredibly hard to believe that they have run out of creative things to do with fashion models, and all they are left with is to just line them up in front of the camera and say “cheese.”
Carmen 11:22 am on August 18, 2009 Permalink
well, first off, Wired is so pretty. Well done Michael Doret! Lets get a subscription to this magazine. Secondly – i know! Gilt Fuse has been dissappointing thus far. I have not given up on it yet, but they better entice me soon because my list of sites to check is long and is ripe for the clipping. Thirdly and Finally, I think that the lack of creativity on the part of photographers has alot to do with the caliber of magazine. Not to say that Elle and Lucky aren’t great but on the spectrum of magazines they kind of fall into the mediocre category. If you want to be really inspired by the photographers I think you will need to upgrade to Vogue Italia or some other such magazine that I can’t think of right now. I will shop around for something!