When I picked up my first issue of
Tyler Brûlé's Monocle magazine, I was instantly a fan. Even though I was aware of it's slightly elitist, self loving tonality, I was still drawn in. In fact, before I had even read a single page, everything from the stock to the sober photography spoke volumes to me; this was clever, and with absolutely no expense spared.
The stench of well considered, high quality editorial was unmistakable, and it was obvious that this was a magazine headed in a completely different direction to the rest.
Of course, I am leaving out the one thing that really made the difference for me, and that was it's superbly minimalistic art direction and design.
Monocle's timeless identity and mark, it's clean lines, it's clarity of structure as well as all the other creative facets that go into this incredibly strong brand, were all crafted by the talented hands of art director
Ken Leung and creative director
Richard Spencer Powell.
Monocle succeeded in it's the printed form, and had already started retailing it's own
branded products, but Monocle needed to realise itself as an online entity.
This was a project that was headed by web and broadcast director
Dan Hill who, I had only found out recently, has written an amazingly in depth piece on
the design and implementation of Monocle's online presence. It makes for a very interesting read with many insights into their thinking and approach.
Pretty much a 'must read', albeit a lengthy read!
