Who is teaching who?

I've no idea who Paul Tusall is either, but I assumed his identity for the day.

Last week I had the privilege of speaking to the Media Studies students at Long Road sixth form college in Cambridge - a talented bunch of (painfully young) creatives. Both of their course tutors are good friends of mine, so prior to meeting both years 12 and 13 I got to see a selection of the students course work. Being 'Media Students' the range of projects they've been tasked with is very broad, at this early stage in their education it's vital they get a taste of all the media channels available to them; so I got to see their music videos, graphic design projects and even some magazine cover designs. At the end of this post I've attached a PDF elaborating on some of the editorial design bits I talked about, I felt I could've expanded on so many points raised - so if you're a Long Road student reading this I hope the PDF clarifies some of what we went through.


The visit was quite an eye-opener for me too. Some of the music videos they'd made were not only very creative - and fun - but also professionally executed and edited. Not surprising when you consider this is a generation accustomed to (palm-sized) HD cameras, with powerful video-editing packages installed on their laptops. For me it really helped bring into focus the question: what does publishing have to offer this generation, both as media professionals and consumers?


I've been thinking a lot recently about how the publishing industry - the area of media I've been involved in for the last 15 years - is currently changing with the advent of e-publishing. How editorial design and journalism needs to evolve. How engaging readers requires a shift in approach to editorial design - it's not just about the new skills required to incorporate interactive content, but how best to deploy content so the reader finds the experience rewarding and keeps coming back to you. From page layout to front cover design it's all going to need a major re-think - music to a graphic designers ears - exporting PDF versions of the print edition of any magazine will only cut it in the short term.


So many of the rules and precepts I've encountered throughout my time as a print editorial designer not only seem redundant and irrelevant, but are also counter intuitive to digesting content on something like the iPad. Being confronted with a generation of consumers with very high expectations when it comes to purchasing digital entertainment products is a new challenge publishing must embrace now it's been gifted another lifeline.


To me magazines have always been about two things - quality and convenience. Quality of content, journalism and presentation. Conveniently sourced into one place for you to enjoy. I wonder what that will look like when the students I met at Long Road finish their education and start creating the magazines they want to read…