Art director of the prestigious Sunday newspaper ‘The New York Times Magazine’ for five years and partner of the design agency Pentagram gave yesterday A conference at Club Pollença about her work in magazines, newspapers, serials and magazines huguet Majorca.
The children are playing with their tiled tables. Was that the idea?
Yes, it was great to see them playing at Huguet’s party. Creating a piece of furniture was a very unusual project as a graphic designer, but it was a lot of fun because you can play with the tiles to make different configurations. Designing something like this is really cool in many ways, especially since it’s so creatively open and can come up with interesting ideas. I designed this table to replace tiles that can be replaced by any designer, not just mine.
He also created a desk with Huguet, which was one of his dreams as a designer. Has it paved the way for a new professional for you?
Not a lot. It was an opportunity to do something new. I enjoy working on projects that I have learned. It’s an area I’ve never touched and it’s very important for me to learn.
What is the key to good design in any field?
I think it’s very different depending on the scope. Generally speaking, I like original ideas and simplicity, which is often better than complexity. However, there are also complex designs that are sometimes very valid and surprising.
Instinct is driven by “I just like it”. Is this a valid argument?
It’s fine for me to trust my instinct, even though it’s hardly used to discuss a job. In The New York Times Magazine, it was very difficult to justify something just because it was beautiful. You had to explain the decisions to a lot more people, and sometimes the confidence I had in designing a cover or whatever was turned off by supposedly intellectualizing the reason I chose it. I don’t have to answer to anyone for the two magazines I designed alone, and it’s a blessing.
You are known for your design. magazines on paper. What role do they play in the digital age?
Now they have the opportunity to be several things at once: print on networks, web, podcasts. They are living elements and I am interested in all their forms. Some started digitally and are now in print because readers love to touch them, turn the pages. They don’t want to see everything on one screen. Most importantly, quality content is difficult because you need to have a good newsroom, photography team and editors.
Will print media eventually become a special product?
Something like this. Many are lost. There will be fewer and fewer magazines and, although higher quality, they will have a smaller circulation. Since we have to justify the existence of the very expensive printing press, which forces the trees to be cut down, we must yield a very good product. We also try to attract not everyone but those who are interested in something specific like sewing, literature, architecture or other subjects. Going back to small magazines allows you to have more control and offer something valuable.
Magazines and newspapers dream of having more publicity, but you edit INQUE to have editorial freedom without it. How did the public react?
It’s a strange, perhaps crazy project, although it’s going well. We have published the second issue and there will be ten, once a year. The lack of advertising makes it very difficult because you want to pay journalists and photographers properly and print something beautiful, so the selling price is expensive.
Have you redesigned The Independent to draw readers into the newspaper?
Design helps, but the rest has to work, and print can’t compete with web news every 30 seconds. I think they would make thoughtful and great newspapers to read on paper on the weekends.