Is Issue 2 coming out?

Maybe... maybe not. :)

It was an experiment from the beginning so we'll see if we stick to it.

We found a lot of people didn't read it all the way through, so not sure if its worth it.

What did you guys think? Did you absolutely love it, or was it just too much content in one place?

 
I think the front page placing was kind of off.

Otherwise, aside from a few a bit unprofessional-looking decisions with text placement and font, it was good.

I think I've only seen one other similar skiing web mag, can't remember the name though, but for a first issue it was better than OK.

Maybe create this Twitter and FB Like system to be a bit more efficient in bringing in attention before (possibly) publishing Issue 2?
 
Unprofessional? Do expand... personally I loved it. We went for a clean and minimal design.

Placement.... I mean where would get better attention? We're all for suggestions. The splash page gets a ton of people going through it, so its a very prominent spot.

 
Maybe that was the wrong word choice. I'll check it out again and say what I meant :)

PS. I really love that you're getting more active on the forums.
 
I enjoyed it a lot. I liked all the content and the details.If you guys made it a hard copy I would definitely subscribe. I thought the splash page placement was great, but it was on their a little too long.
 
I didn't really read it... I skimmed through it. I guess the E-magazine just didn't stick with me. I would much rather see the time spent on getting an new uploader for the vid section then the magazine. The front page news is all I need.
 
I can't think of a better place than the splash page. Your attention is instantly drawn in as it is the first thing you see when you get on ns.
 
This is sort of what we were wondering... lots of people simply skimmed through it quickly because it was too much content at once.

However for the people that wanted that sit-back content experience... it was fantastic. Honestly I was pretty proud of us for putting together what I would call an intelligent park magazine. Maybe I'm biased though. ):

We will also be messing around with placing the same content from Issue #1 into the news, and seeing if a different person reads the same content in different places.

Now in terms of the new uploader... just hold on a while longer. It'll be there. Just basically the single biggest thing we've ever done on the site!

Try entering one of the video contests... you can see the first piece of it there.

 
Okay, here comes honest commentary on the visual aspect. Keep in mind that it's all IMHO, not stated design-fact. And yes, this is really nitpicking, but sometimes it might help you notice something new unless you did it intentionally.

-Editor's letter: to me, the columns are very skewed. It looks weird, not bad, but abnormal to cut the third paragraph inhalf and then continue on the same level as the Headline, although it ends higher than the first column.

-Font choice: I agree that a Sans Serif font is needed for most magazines, but with such amount of space (limitless basically) I would go with a Serif font and I know I'm pushing this, but it means a lot for the human eye to have stability. For example, in the Guerrilla Media article, the column and paragraph breaks seem very random and could be divided much more carefully as to not seem so...broken.

-Choices: here is the best example of the column/paragraph that I'm talking about. Look at that second paragraph. Then look at the available white space under the third one. That seems just lazy to leave a two-line broken PG when there's plenty of room to open it up on top as a full text.

After that, I didn't see anything that stood out. But if you take a look at these examples and say if it's just me or does someone else see it as well. I just feel like small things are the most important things, yet the easiest to improve upon.

 
Hi,
First of all, thanks for your interest for the NS Issue01 design.
- Editor's letter: It follows my grid and totally looks ok and the text is aligned on the top guide of the grid.
- Font choice: We never use any sans serif font on Newschoolers, because it doesn't reflect the modern looks we want to gave to Newschoolers. Studies indicated that serif typefaces may be more readable in print (I think it's a stupid old study). Those studies are not applicable to digital display anyways. That's why Apple / Microsoft use sans serif font for their OS menu etc..
- Choices: It's totally normal. There is a white space under the third paragraph because the text finish there. I have a grid to follow. I can't break a paragraph because there is two-line left. Typographically speaking, I can't leave one-line broken, but I can leave two-line broken because it doesn't affect the readability.
I don't say it's 100% well design, because I know there are some design mistake in there. It was make in a short time, but we definitely have a very good design team that know what they do.
JP
 
i almost think it would be more successful if it could be subscribed to and mailed out. i usually read powder and freeskier by flipping through quickly, then going back and actually reading small articles, and finally going back in and reading full length articles, one or
 
two at a time. i cant do that with a webpage. also, when i get on NS, i usually look straight to the forums, news, etc, and i dont really have the time or patience to read a whole magazine first.
 
Well I mean there is an opinion factor going on... like with anything creative just because there's a reason behind it doesn't mean you HAVE to like it.

However, JP is definitely pretty on his game if you ask me. I know he's well educated with this stuff, and I for one like his designs.

Honestly though, we really do welcome the feedback! We'll try to give you as much of our perspective as we possibly can.

Oh and @nebula - yeah fair enough. I honestly downloaded the .pdf to my iPad and read it there, which was a great way to do it. The idea with that was if enough people liked it, we'd port the whole thing to Tablet format so you can read it *like* a magazine. - which is still something we might do in some shape if you guys start to get yourselves tablets or are thinking about it.

Do you think it would make such a difference to have a printed magazine? I'm curious to the answer behind this. It would take such an insane re-direction of resources that I fail to think it would be worthwhile.... but anything is possible.

I'd just prefer to focus on the future instead of the past. Really pump money into improving the other features of the site instead of putting so much time and effort into words + photos... I mean lets face it... how many times do you just flip through that magazine, read 3 articles and then throw it in the recycling bin?

Probably depends on the magazine... but lets be honest here.

 
I understand what you're saying; print stuggles while internet-based publications and websites continue to thrive. I don't know how practical it would be to make the magazine open to paying subscribers, but not available in any stores or newstands, or if that is even possible, but I would love it.

I actually attempted to download and print the .pdf, but my printer screwed it up, and i lost a bunch of the pages, so that didnt work too well, and reading it on my iPod Touch was not working too well, it was just too small of a screen.

I read most of Issue 1, and loved what I read; it was interesting, informative content, with good pictures, and was well written, far better, in fact, than when I expected from a website.

So in that sense, congratulations, and I hope to see an Issue 2 some day, and hope that it can grow from there.
 
I actually should clarify my position a little further...

I don't think that print magazines are worthless. I think that certain magazines are really good, and that there will always be a place for super quality printed content. That will always thrive.

However, the space is extremely crowded right now in the ski world. I just don't see how there is room for another magazine, when the advertising dollars in skiing have been either declining or flat for years.

The key is that here at Newschoolers we're really good at the interwebz. We're not so experienced at putting together and printing a magazine... so it would be a big shift for us to go in that direction. Even the digital magazine was a ton of work to put together, and it just might have been mis-appropriated resources.

We will put out Issue #2, and then I think after that we'll try some other formats. When we eventually get something that everyone loves we'll stick to that and run with it.

This is the internet after all... shit changes every five seconds.

 
Doug is spot on. It is a ton of work, as I'm our only content guy and JP is our only design guy (where as magazines will have 6-8 people to do all that), so despite what you think of the design, JP deserves some big time props, because after I got him the content he put that bad boy together all by himself...and I thought it looked awesome!

In regards to Issue 2, it will come out, albeit it much later than we all would have liked, but I think you're all going to really dig the content...because it's definitely different :)

 
i tried to dl the pdf onto the kindle i got for xmas, no worky i think because of the content like vids. if there was any way that you could take stuff like that out for an alternate pdf version if enough people are in my boat, thatd be cool
 
I know that I would be stoked to receive a Newschoolers magazine in the mail every so often. Much easier to read, and you can read it whenever, wherever you want. Even in school when the teachers wouldn't let you take out a tablet/you wouldn't have a tablet with you.
Text isn't much easier to read on a tablet (Kindle excluded) than it is on a computer screen, so I think the real magazine would be better. Also maybe NS could put a couple pages dedicated to the products in their store, to help promote that a little more.
 
I liked the first issue, though I didn't read all the way through like you said many people didn't, and personally I though the layout was really good, it looked clean and crisp!
 
LOVED IT!

but for magazines, i really like the paper versions simply because of the portability.

The day will come when that wont be a problem but for now, i thought it was decent. a few pages didnt have pictures just text, that really bothered me for some reason :S

I still enjoyed it. KEEP EM COMING!
 
Now I'm very curious as to whether many of you have tablets or are considering purchasing one?

I really believe in the tablets as a way to consume digital media portably. Its awesome to sit on the couch and read a magazine on your iPad... plus the interactive element takes it to the next level.

I think this is the future... but I'm pretty sure the stats say that you guys haven't adopted it yet.

TALK TO ME! :)

 
I thought issue 1 was sick. It could have a little more videos in it. that was cool how there was that little clip halfway through the mag. It keeps you interested
 
I don't have a tablet and probably won't get one anytime soon. I really like sitting on the couch and reading a magazine though.
 
i believe iPad-like tablets are an excuse to make electronics as big as they were in the 90's. also, REAL tablets have been around for a VERY long time and are much more capable than this new generation of tablets, but they are also 3-5 times more expensive and not as well-marketed as the iPad.

BUT, if someone makes some kind of telescopic tablet that can ACTUALLY fit in my pocket, but pulls out to larger iPad-size format, and costs less than $300, i might just get one.
 
Give it like 5 years, and this will probably be true. Thats what I'm talking about when I say "in the future".

I mean come on... technology progresses at an extremely rapid pace. Think about how much the iPhone has progressed over 5 years... all smartphones for that matter.

I don't think NS will explode and die in the next 5 years, so we have to plan for things like this.

So again... lets say that tablet was like a device that fit in your pocket, folded out and was cheap.

Would then you read a tablet magazine vs. a real one?

 
Yes, that would be so sick. Most of the people on NS read Freeskier and a Newschoolers mag could maybe even be compiled by the user?
 
my whole problem with solid print is the addition of ad's. They really don't do any good to reading, and if newschoolers mag went to a solid copy, it would be chock full of ad's.

yes i know there were some on issue one, but it wasn't even comparable to a freeskier or powder issue.

I think the whole tablet idea would be sick though, and you could have edits in it. so you do a piece on someone boom you get to watch an edit. you read something about some contest boom edit. that would be cool, and possible with tablets.

Either way i did enjoy issue one, and I'm hoping there is an issue 2 in the making.
 
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