A wide-ranging conversation on the state of editorial design in today's publishing landscape, and why the discipline is attracting heightened interest from students, young designers and established practitioners.
Adrian Shaughnessy and Astrid Stavro explore the evolving role of book design, joined by MagCulture founder Jeremy Leslie, who will offer his perspective on the current state of magazine and periodical design.
Together, they will monitor the health of editorial design at a moment of technological and cultural change. Topics will include:
- How are editorial designers rethinking the use of text and image in the ‘post-reading’ era?
- How has on-screen reading influenced the design of books, magazines and other printed formats?
- What impact is AI having on editorial design and publishing?
- How can designers engage readers in an era of clickbait, fragmented attention and endless scrolling?
- Where do we find the most innovative work in the field today, and what can we learn from it?
- Why, despite the dominance of digital media, does ink on paper continue to persist?
Bringing together three leading voices in the field, this discussion will examine the challenges, opportunities and future directions of editorial design in the 21st century.
Speakers
Jeremy Leslie
Jeremy Leslie is a London-based designer, writer and curator who runs magCulture, the platform celebrating the new generation of independent magazines. MagCulture encompasses a studio, shop, regular live events in London and New York, and podcast. A passionate advocate for editorial design, he regularly contributes to the creative press, speaks at conferences and judges awards.
Astrid Stavro
Astrid is an award-winning creative director specialised in editorial design. Prior to running her own design studio, she was a partner at Pentagram and co-founder of the design agency Atlas. She is a member of Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) and President of the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD). She is the co course leader on the RCA short course Editorial Design.
Adrian Shaughnessy
Adrian Shaughnessy is a graphic designer, writer, publisher and educator. He has taught at the RCA in the School of Communication since 2010, and latterly in the School of Design. Shaughnessy is a co-founder of Unit Editions, a publishing company producing books on design and visual culture. He has written, designed, edited, art directed and published numerous books on design. He is the course leader on the RCA short course Editorial Design.
In the series
Free online talks led by RCA academic faculty featuring notable guest speakers with industry specialism and leading professional practitioners in their field.
