Personal by Design

Personal by Design

How long have we heard the lament over the decline of print publications? How we’re losing one of life’s most accessible and simple joys: holding a magazine in its hefty, papered glory, leisurely browsing the pages for ideas, motivation and, well … general knowledge? 

Not so fast. The appetite for print magazines is growing. Now there is a certain irony that you are reading this claim on a digital format, but DesignNY is a strong player in why a certain category of magazines is contributing to what is being heralded as a print revolution. 

Regional Superpowers

Regional publications, according to an article in Business of Home, have distinct advantages over their national colleagues. They enjoy a more direct relationship and deeper connection with readers. Being smaller, they are more nimble and can try new things that are better suited to their supporters. For example, with DesignNY, we go directly into the community and ask our regional professionals what they are seeing, doing, and wanting (this blog and website are born from that input).

Turns out people like the personal approach (I know, shocker). And really, shouldn’t our content be specific to our four-season, lake-filled, one-of-a-kind region, rather than, say, Phoenix, Arizona and its days of triple-digit temps and 5% humidity? There are certainly sparkling gems of innovation to be harvested from other places, but those ideas need to be designed to be accessible to our region. 

Design for Each and All

As if on cue, the International Council of Design (ICoD) just celebrated its annual International Design Day on April 27. The theme for 2021 was “Design for Each and All.” 

The theme is constructed on the idea that everyone deserves to live in a well-designed world because a well-designed world is an accessible one. According to the ICoD, living well and flourishing, supported by objects, places, and systems designed to sustain and encourage this, is something every being should be able to access.

Layer the concept “Design for Each and All” on top of a regional focus and you get a glimpse into why regional publications, like DesignNY, care so deeply about connecting to their community. 

You Are Part of This

Just by being here, you are shaping how DesignNY continues to connect design to you; our industry professionals and lay audience readers. We’ve been around for more than 20 years and are jazzed for what’s to come. 

So grab our 2021 edition, dog-ear those pages (or bookmark the digital page) and enjoy that you are the reason your regional magazines have become the flagbearers of keeping print alive and well.