First,
I love your magazine to death, which means it chagrins me to no end to have my first e-mail to you be one of criticism. I also know what it's like to design a graphic layout for something and have everyone pick it apart with no understanding of the care and thought that went into it. So I'll try to explain what I don't like with some precision.
That said, there are a couple of things I didn't cotton to about the new look, and I'll try to be specific :
Font. The font (Graphos?) used on the text of the first page in each section is driving me buggy; I'm under 30, I've got perfect vision, and have no problem reading the tiniest print - but something about the spacing and lines makes it hard to read (example p. 29 - right side of the page)
The thin columns of text. While I'm harping on p. 29 - I also abhor long, thin columns of text. I don't eat my corn on the cob vertically, and I suppose I expect the same out of my paragraphs. (examples also include p. 42, p.46, p. 60 - which not only includes thin text but also the unreadable font, p. 68, etc).
Vertical Text. It's probably no surprise that I don't like trying to read things sideways. Does that make me a vertigot? Perhaps I should check into counseling - do you have Isaiah Washington's publicist's number? (examples p. 36, p. 59, p. 60, p. 65, p. 82, etc.)
The use of white space. You're not an advertiser trying to make an advertisement stand out amid clutter. You've already got our attention; we're the early-adopters and opinion-leaders, remember? Maybe you're trying to do the environment a favor by saving color ink, which is harvested from Pygmy children or something, I dunno. But if I had my druthers, the pages would be SOAKED in the gorgeous, vibrant photographs and illustrations that dominate your publication.
HUGE Titles. It's okay to use bold, large font to draw my attention in - but when the headlines for articles are bigger than the photos on the page - there's a problem. Like I said earlier, I'm biased toward photography, so it follows that I think the real estate occupied by John Hodgman's quirky portrait should be markedly larger than the "what we don't know" article title (p. 104-124)
Sorry to be a crank. I really do love the magazine. Honest!
Derek DeVriesGrand Rapids, MI
