*** From the Archives ***
This article is from November 5, 2002, and is no longer current.
Design Doyenne: Plazm Media’s Fluid Approach to Design
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Magazine Manifesto
And the greatly anticipated Plazm magazine, issue 27, is on the newsstands (the cover is shown below). Plazm Media has always maintained that the magazine is its labor of love and the most visible manifesto of Plazm ideals. This current issue designed by Plazm East’s Enrique Mosqueda is elegant, replete with cover and visual essay by Mosqueda’s “favorite photographer on the planet” Mark Bothwick. Mosqueda and Plazm managing editor Jon Raymond conceived of a daring transition for this magazine known for its design bravado: For the very first time, Plazm incorporated a “template” which is clean, clear, subtle, legible, and mature.
Mosqueda says that this design was greatly influenced by his move to New York (where he is a fashion and beauty consultant) and his resulting passion for simplicity and clarity. This he imposes on the eclectic editorial mix (which includes Raymond’s interview with the creator of the Visa card). You can order at www.plazm.com.
Editor Raymond offers his vision for this singular magazine: “I would hope that the editorial mix continues to reflect Plazm’s uniquely marginal place in the world of magazines. Without specific mandates from any industry or publishing conglomerate, we have been able to pursue images and writing of a much more adventurous, independent, and autonomous variety than most periodicals are allowed to show. We can publish photographs that are not selling anything, profiles of artists who never display their work, reviews of books, music, and events that no one has ever heard of, and poems by people even we are not certain exist. I would hope that Plazm magazine continues to utilize its freedom to give voice to people, places, and things that history would otherwise overlook or suppress. In a small way, I like to think that Plazm magazine is contributing to a counter-history written against the official book of the culture industry.”
You, Madame Editor, and I are not the only ones who anticipate each issue of Plazm and who monitor the moves of this evolving design firm including Plazm’s upcoming book for Rockport Publishers, “XXX: The Power of Sex in Contemporary Graphic Design.”
John Jay, the Wieden + Kennedy creative director in Tokyo adds these words: “Josh Berger and Plazm and I have worked in many capacities over the past five years in Portland and in Tokyo. From the book, ‘Soul of the Game,’ to Star Wars Episodes 1 and 2, to pro-bono work for PICA all for Studio J; to a lot of Nike assignments for Wieden + Kennedy. This collective of talent has proven to be an inspiration for all of those Northwest creative souls who believe that they can make a difference by being small and independent. And when I go to a bookstore in Tokyo to find the latest issue of Plazm magazine, it is a firm reminder that it has nothing to do with the size of the company… just the size of their dreams.
“However, for all the dreams that they might have, they back it up with a relentless, passionate 24/7 kind of work ethic that opens the doors for them around the world. There are many dreamers and only so few who can make it reality through hard work.
“Dreams are nice but results are even nicer.”
Thank you for those words, John. Best wishes to Plazm. And warm regards to you, Pamela.
Read more by Margaret Richardson.
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