Reportagen, Weltgeschehen im Kleinformat. Konzeption und Gestaltung eines Magazins
The magazine “Reportagen” [Reports] has been coming out every two months since 2011. It is focused on the journalistic genre of literary reporting. The design emphasises the special nature of the publishing concept and makes the magazine distinctively unique. The handy format and choice of materials – linen binding and uncoated paper – and the single-column layout align the magazine with the printed book. The cover, which also serves as a table of contents, is purely typographically based, pointing to the character of the magazine as a text medium. By contrast with usual marketing strategies, there are no photographs. Instead, the magazine relies on illustrations and infographics. A specially developed font aimed at maximum readability is another identifying feature.
Comments of the nominators
The designers, who were also involved with the publishing work, have made a considerable contribution to the quality and uniqueness of the magazine. Along with other convincing choices, the decision to use illustrations and infographics in this medium instead of photographs underlines the literary character of the texts.
Comments of the jury
This magazine is deliberately committed to a genre of journalism that is increasingly under threat in the media world of today: literary reporting – a profoundly researched text format, imbued with its own observations and combining description and analysis. The idea of the magazine is convincing in itself, and it has been harmoniously realised. The decision to do without photography, which has been replaced by other pictorial media such as illustrative diagrams and graphics, is a consistent one. The entire appearance of the magazine – above all the handy format and reader-friendly typography – makes you want to read it and encourages you to get to grips with the text. The success of “Reportagen” – one aspect of which is its qualifying for a Design Prize Switzerland award – underlines the relevance of the project.
More projects from edition 2013
