Graphic Design

Far be it from me to question top-notch world-class graphic designers but has anyone picked up and read a Newsweek magazine lately?

I don’t subscribe so I guess have no right to complain but they remind me of an old magazine. They changed fonts but more importantly, I can’t tell all the articles from the ads. They’d probably think that is a good thing so they can tell advertisers that more people are reading the ads but in my case, it already takes a lot to get me to read an ad in a magazine. If I’m having trouble telling whether something is an ad or an honest-to-goodness article, then I’ll move on.

I’m not stupid or blind and on many pages there are no ads so it isn’t always that hard. But even on these, the layout and fonts don’t draw me in – they make me flip the page. Hardly the response the designers were likely after.

Between Time and Newsweek, I’ve always liked Newsweek better – until now. But not having seen a Time in months, maybe they’ve already had a makeover too.