22 of today's best print magazines for creative inspiration, insight and ideas
Image courtesy of Kaboom
The smell of fresh print from a newly bought magazine. The way its front cover might stop you in your tracks and want to open its pages to discover more. The appealing use of typography and the layout of text. Photography, illustrations and beautifully crafted words. What's not to love?
We're always delving into magazines for design inspiration at Shillington. We provide a whole stack of them at our campuses around the world, ready for our students to devour and enjoy. What do we include in this mix you might ask? From established firm favourites to the best newcomers, we've pulled together 22 wonderful print magazines that we love and are also worthy of your attention.
Most of these are independent, so you'll be supporting the creative community too. Plus you'll often delve into topics unrelated to art and design, giving you interesting insights into the wider world.
1. Riposte
An award-winning, smart magazine for women that contains honest interviews with fascinating characters who share their successes and failures, their work, their passions and perspectives. Covering a broad range of topics from art, design, music, business, innovation and even politics. Gorgeously designed and beautifully printed.
Priced at £10 | Buy the magazine
2. The Gentlewoman
The Gentlewoman is another great magazine featuring interviews with strong, modern women, often known for impressive feats of movie-directing, novel-writing or enterprise-building. Published in London, issue 18 features filmmaker extraordinaire Agnès Varda, shot by Alasdair McLellan.
Priced at £6.50 | Buy the magazine
3. Little White Lies
Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them – Shillington graduate Timba Smits used to be the creative director. Described "at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement", it combines cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism to bring you a more honest look at movies and movie making.
Priced at £8.50 | Buy the magazine
4. The Gourmand
An elegant journal covering food and culture, The Gourmand contains stunning and inventive food photography and includes excellent contributions from artists and writers around the world. Never disappointing, it's a lovely piece of print to add to your collection.
Priced at £12 | Buy the magazine
5. Frame
Established in 1997, Frame is a leading magazine for interior designers. With a belief that meaningful spaces enable people to work, shop, relax and live better, this title is always full of positive inspiration and ideas. The latest issue focuses on high-density living and explores the promising proposals for future-proof housing.
Priced at €19.95 | Buy the magazine
6. Elephant
Smart, humorous and playful, Elephant covers art, fashion, film and visual culture as well as the "stars of the future". As such, it provides a platform for emerging designers and makers before they make it to artworld fame. Published quarterly, each issue is themed, in keeping with its mantra "life through art".
Priced at £12 | Buy the magazine
7. Hypebeast
Hypebeast proudly calls itself the leading online destination for men's contemporary fashion and streetwear. But we love its print magazine the most where it looks closely at art, music, design and lifestyle. Its latest issue features an exclusive cover design by Verdy and interviews with Studio Hagel, Dev Hynes and Midnight Studios too.
Priced at £15 | Buy the magazine
8. Delayed Gratification
Delayed Gratification is the world’s first "slow journalism" magazine. It’s a beautiful printed quarterly publication which revisits the events of the previous three months to see what happened after the dust settled and the news agenda moved on. It is proud to be "Last to Breaking News". Its latest issue explores Ireland's abortion debate, life as a sea nomad and the fallout from Windrush. This is for those of you seeking more answers.
Priced at £12 | Buy the magazine
9. Huck
Huck is a beautiful bi-monthly magazine that loves to explore subcultures as "entry points for articles about music, politics and places all over the world", according to the New York Times. Be it surf, skate, snow, music, art, activism, pop culture or the environment. Never a disappointing read.
Priced at £8.50 | Buy the magazine
10. Gal-dem
"We want people from all backgrounds to engage with the work we are doing. It’s no secret that the mainstream media doesn’t represent or reflect us, so we are doing it for ourselves." Here lies the sentiment behind Gal-dem, a magazine "produced by women and non-binary people of colour" with the hope of making the world more diverse and open. Available online too.
Priced at £10 | Buy the magazine
11. Kajet Journal
Frustrated by the "purely anecdotal" understanding of Eastern Europe, Kajet Journal is a beautifully bookish title with new perspectives from the region. Published in Bucharest, Romania, it aims to challenge the stereotypes and misrepresentations attributed to Eastern Europe by mainstream media. Another beaut courtesy of Stack Magazines – a subscription service we highly recommend.
Priced at £17.60 | Buy the magazine
12. Sculptorvox
Published in Nottingham, Sculptorvox goes beyond what we'd normally consider as sculptural work and delves into the inspirations, processes and careers of artists who work in 3D. The latest issue is themed around Blood and Wire, representing the physical flesh, and the ways in which it's depicted and displayed in art.
Priced at £15.30 | Buy the magazine
13. Dirty Furniture
Dirty Furniture is an independent magazine that uncovers the relationship between people and the things they live with. "We are as interested in what happens after an item leaves the showroom as in that which saw it arrive there," says the publisher. Instead of dismissing furniture as a topic fit only for glossy lifestyle publications, Dirty Furniture uses it as a springboard to explore topics spanning politics, history, technology, psychology, manufacturing and the plain weird.
Priced at £13 | Buy the magazine
14. Weapons of Reason
Through peppy illustrations and well-researched writing, Weapons of Reason wants to bring you closer to the world’s most pressing issues. Asking all the big questions and examining the possible solutions, this fifth issue dives deep into food, agriculture and the environment.
Priced at £7 | Buy the magazine
15. Boat
A gorgeous travel and culture magazine, Boat reports on a different destination in each issue. Expect to discover more about the Faroe Islands, Havana, Tel Aviv, Bangkok and Los Angeles, as it "shines a different kind of light on cities with big stories to tell".
Priced at £10 | Buy the magazine
16. The Great Discontent
The Great Discontent is a print publication and online magazine featuring inspiring conversations with today’s artists, makers, and risk-takers. Focusing on "beginnings, creativity, and risk", it provides a memorable look into the lives of its subjects via long-form interviews, short features, film-based projects, and events. The latest issue features a cover and interview with Reggie Watts.
Priced at $6.49 | Buy the magazine
17. Positive News
Fed up with bad news but want to stay informed? Positive News is the magazine for good journalism about the good things that are happening in the world. With great design, stunning photography and awesome illustration, you can stay connected and positive while enjoying lots of creative inspiration.
Priced at £6 | Buy the magazine
18. The Skirt Chronicles
The Skirt Chronicles was founded by Sarah de Mavaleix, Sofia Nebiolo and Haydée Touitou as a collaborative platform with the ambition of creating a community which celebrates diverse cultures and generations. It is a publication founded by women which reflects a feminine voice yet does not exclude anyone from the conversation. Interestingly, it's organised chronologically, as the content is determined by the date of completion.
Priced at $10 | Buy the magazine
19. Flaneur
Flaneur is a nomadic, independent magazine focussing on one street per issue. It embraces the street’s complexity, its layers and fragmented nature with a literary approach. Even better, all content is produced with artists of all disciplines while its editorial team spends two months on location. Flaneur shows what you can do using a collaborative, impulsive and unconventional approach. Wonderful.
Priced at $15 | Buy the magazine
20. Courier
This East London-based magazine reports on modern business and startup culture from around the world. Launched in 2013, it's now stocked at over 350 outlets in London alone and has a readership of over 80,000 people, including our team at Shillington London. Courier also works with a range of brands big and small to help them better understand the impact startup culture has on their business. Always a fascinating read.
Priced at £5 | Buy the magazine
21. Frankie
Frankie is an Australian print magazine, founded by friends Louise Bannister and Lara Burke, bringing you great affordable fashion, sweet art, interesting reads, real people and pretty photography. We especially love it for their gorgeous covers.
Priced at $10.95 | Buy the magazine
22. Sidetracked
Rooted in inspirational journeys, Sidetracked is one of the best independent travel magazines out there. Everything about the print publication is visually stunning and engaging. Released three times each year, it brings together some of the finest stories of exploration and adventure. Volume 13 is the latest available to buy
Priced at £10 | Buy the magazine
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