Anke Eberhardt - How to do a theme issue {and to make typography interesting for dummies)
Channel: Typographische Gesellschaft München – tgm
Date: 2016-03-09

Usually, CUT magazine’s topics are “do-it-yourself”, fashion, and design – but not like your grandma’s crocheted tablecloth from back in the days. Being the first German magazine of the handmade movement, CUT gives a new image to craft, and always puts value on modern layouts. Its readership includes many graphic designers and artists, so when font dealer Monotype was searching for a platform to present their fonts, they didn’t choose a typography magazine, they chose CUT. Showcasing lettering in a real magazine design and demonstrating the potential of typography in a creative way; all while presenting Monotype’s range of letters was the goal. But how do you make such a specific topic interesting to readers who look at letters as a means to an end, and are far from knowing what a serif is? How to not bore them on 146 pages? Is a magazine theme chosen by an external partner a burden or a motivational tool for the editorial staff? And how can such cooperation offer a new financial chance to a small special interest magazine? CUT #14 answers all of these questions. Including oversized letters built of furniture and people, and the literal German “Buchstabensalat” (a jumbled mess of letters which Germans call a salad – be prepared for some heavy word plays!), and maybe the first interview with a font ever.