Having just finished the second edition of Offscreen, self-described as a "new, collectible print magazine about the human side of websites and apps", a couple of thoughts come to mind.
First, this is a well executed publication. The quality of the paper and binding are excellent. As well, the photography is very well done and the amount of images makes flipping through the magazine as enjoyable as sitting down and reading through one of the interviews.
Second, some of the content of the magazine made me stop and think (once again) about the current trends in our culture. Specifically, the habits of the younger generations.
One section, the Logbook, is sub-titled "A Day in the Life Of" and includes excerpts of a typical day in the lives of five young individuals whose work is focused on the web. I looked forward to reading the piece, but came away feeling empty.
The days of each of these five were alarmingly similar, and each started and ended the day staring into a screen of one kind or another. The lack of variety and interests in other fields was a little disconcerting. This is not a statement about the lives of these specific five people, but our generation as a whole.
Overall, I really enjoyed the magazine and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the web/design community. But I do hope that Kai Brach — the man behind the publication — would take care to include a better variety of folks for the Logbook feature.
If the intention of the magazine is to highlight people away from the screen — as the name indicates — then it should do just that. The designers and writers I admire most are those whose life and interests do in fact extend offscreen. Let's see some more of that.
