OffScreen & The Great Discontent

Nothing like a brief vacation to remind you that sometimes you just need to turn off the devices, limit your access to the Internet and social webs, breathe and focus. And of course read in the good old analog format — paper.  It is not just books, but also magazines. Despite being an Internet News Guy since 1994, I still am voracious reader of magazines — in their original format. I find the layouts, the typography, the photos and most importantly the serenity of the written word on paper calming and deeply satisfying. (Of course, I go back to the Internet soon after!) 

Instead of trying to buy mainstream magazines, I often opt for more niche and indie publications. Apartmento, Kinfolk, The Fantastic Man are some magazines I often pick up at one of the great news stands in San Francisco — Juicy News. On a recent visit, I picked up issue #7 of the OffScreen magazine which is about “people behind bits and pixel.”

What a fantastic idea — going totally analog about digerati! It is the work of German-born but now Melbourne-based Kai Brach. It is a very small publication, but one I can get behind and if you are in the field of design and creative arts, you should be lending Kai a helping hand and subscribing to the magazine. Yes, it does show that its indie roots and you will find some occasional editorial snafus, but it is full of good stuff. 

In a similar vein, folks from The Great Discontent have turned their interview series with creatives into a print magazine (and it is also available as an iPad magazine.) As a long time reader of the web-based interviews, I think this is a great move as it allows one to take interviews along for reading without interruptions. While many of the interviews appear on the web, they do have a few exclusive interviews. It is pretty amazing considering that Ryan & Tina Essmaker started this in August 2011.