GCM #06 flip thru from Gym Class Magazine on Vimeo.
JPT: This is the third or maybe fourth step in the design evolution of Gym Class Magazine. What inspired the latest changes?
SG: [Laughs] Yeah… I’m not sure how many steps there have been either. Talk about schizophrenic editorial design.
But Gym Class Magazine has always been about playing around with design and format. Issues one to three were A5 in size and printed black and white. Issues four and five were printed on tabloid newsprint. The larger canvas with which to work was fun and allowed me to re-invent the publication’s design once again. The earlier look of Gym Class Magazine didn’t translate to the larger tabloid format… the earlier issues had one article per spread, the issues printed on newsprint had fewer pages so multiple articles needed to appear on spreads.
And now, with issue six, I’ve gone back to my roots. I’m a magazine designer by trade so I really wanted to go back to a traditional magazine format. Moving from black and white to full-colour seemed like a natural progression… [laughs] and afforded the opportunity for another re-design.
Design wise I think issue six is the strongest and weakest issue so far. There are elements I’m really happy with and others I’m not so enthused by. I’m not going to tell you what I think doesn’t work… but these elements will be tweaked for issue seven, rest assured.
The theme for this edition is 'The Magazine Fanboy Issue' and I notice that Fantastic Man and Butt are featured in the cover photography. What's the reasoning behind this choice?
The latest issue includes the magazine’s first fashion feature, shot by Swedish photographer Knotan. I really wanted to get a fashion element into Gym Class Magazine… and the theme of the latest issue is magazines so it seemed right to incorporate magazines I’m a fan of into the shoot. Each cover image features a photograph from that shoot.
I’m a real magazine fanboy myself. I’m a Fantastic Man and BUTT groupie. They’re both published by Gert Jonkers and Jop van Bennekom… who I admire greatly, so it felt right to feature them on the covers.
Having two covers is a bit of a gimmick. But printing tricks like that is something that differentiates magazines from websites… and iPad apps. So it’s important to do I think. Plus, it’s interesting to see which cover gets the most attention; this helps to identify what readers are into I guess.
In the last 12 months Gym Class Magazine has become established as one of the most interesting independent publications in the UK.
What's the master plan for the next 12 months?
Really? One of the most interesting? Thanks. I wish [laughs]… I wish being interesting translated into sales. Printing and posting these bloody things is expensive.
But, seriously… there’s never been a plan for the magazine. I guess, thinking back, it was important to me that Gym Class Magazine the zine grew into being a magazine. I think it’s on its way to becoming a magazine… baby steps and all that.
Any plans are focused on issue seven. The current issue is 24 pages; I want issue seven to have 32 pages. I want to develop the fashion element, it’s important to me that content develops in a way that’s interesting to me and the reader, and I’m keen to have the art direction and content work better together.
Oh… and it’s published quarterly at the moment. I’d love for it to go once every two months. Stay tuned.
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