Exclusive Interview
“Looking for pure innovation”
What is your magazine about?
It is about Collisions, Culture and Capitalism. We cover Design and Brands and the people behind them. We don’t focus on any one market niche, rather looking for pure innovation and where ever that takes us.
Who’s behind the project? Tell us about the founders, their backgrounds and their motivations!
The magazine is published by the KDU and David Gensler.
How do you produce one issue? How much time do you spend on it? How big is your team?
It takes about 2 months to fully develop one issue. We keep the development time short, so that the topics covered are fresh and relevant. The core team is small but we rely on our entire KDU family consisting of designers, artists, photographers, illustrators and others to develop the content. It is a very collaborative process that changes and evolves with each issue.
What have been the important steps in the life of your magazine?
When we decided to make the printed magazine a small element in a much larger vision. RGM - Royal Global Media is designed to be the fastest way to gain information and data from our culture.
Which are the key ingredients for the success of your magazine?
Our distribution is key. We are focused on being in places that other magazines are not. We directly target the creative class, the people pushing culture forward. Most recently we decided to put a major focus on being more global. This global vision will be very visible when our new issue debuts.
What are the difficulties you are confronted with? What would be “the” thing to help the magazine to improve?
Well new advertisers are obviously hard to reach. It is easy when the media buying takes place in house. Those teams are generally more in tune with core youth culture and design culture. It is more about feel and less about measuring... brand managers know that reaching 10 of the right people is a thousands times more valuable than reaching a million of the wrong people.
Where do you want the magazine to be in five years?
A global platform. A foundation and a bridge to help cultures shift, collide and grow.
Tell us about your audience! Who are the readers of your magazine?
The creative class.
Is remaining independent important to you? Is it part of the strategy?
No. It is not by design, it is simply a matter of timing. We would consider partnering when we have built a broad enough platform. Right now, we are happy walking our own path.
What’s your relationship with advertisement? Does it influence your content? Do you care about advertising-driven-editorials?
I will do advert driven editorial if the brand has something worth covering. Advertising never influences our content. You can see the brands that go a bit too far to pleas the advertisers. The problem with this is the target audience can detect it and it negatively effects the magazines brand.
Do you think that magazine readers still need to watch TV?
Let’s hope not. Actually just kidding... sure they do. Media is media. I am not in love with any one form over another.
Which is your relationship with your printer? Does he play a main role in your development?
Yes. We use a printer directly in New York City. They are great and care about the quality as much as we do... sometimes more. They are obsessed with production. It makes our job easy. www.proof7.com
Which magazines did influence you most? What are you looking for in other magazines?
I like Monster Children and Streetwear Today. I enjoy Japanese magazines like Warp and Huge. I also enjoy Business and Strategy.
What do you think of your issue 01, when you look back at it?
I think it was a good starting point and I am also glad that we keep evolving and developing and pushing.
What question did you never ask in your magazine but would have liked to?
Honest to god, we have never had to hold back. Everything we wanted or needed to know was addressed.
How many magazines do you buy / get / read each month? Do you qualify yourself a maniac?
I used to get about 30, but now only select a few. I can my information online and when I purchase a printed book, it has to be special.
E-mail interview from “13.02.2006”. © Colophon2007.com – Mike Koedinger Editions SA (Luxembourg)
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