Most Innovative Companies (2014) numbers by Sawdust. This discipline with our type allows us to sometimes present numbers and letterforms as art for franchise packages:
Jason Kilar of Hulu, photographed by Joe Pugliese. They are all employed to suggest a sense of graphic motion, but also to activate different on-page elements and exist as connective tissue for a unified tone to the complete magazine. Our palette of graphic devices consist of gradients, slashes, long horizontal rules, divots, text underlines, and ‘stepped’ gradients (a combination of different vertical rule widths to suggest a gradient). Jenna Lyons of J.Crew photographed by Yu Tsai.īen Silbermann of Pinterest photographed by Art Strieber.īy relying solely on these two families, we avoid any tendency toward ‘skeuomorphic’ typographic gimmicks, which might otherwise saddle a tech story with a computerized-looking font or an education story with a scrawled handwritten font. (Kaiser is based on German fonts, and Zizou on French fonts) And of course, the ‘FC’ representing both ‘Fast Company’ and ‘football club’ was too good to pass up! For you soccer fans out there, you should know these faces are named after Franz Beckenbauer and Zinedine Zidane. Kaiser is used for most covers, and Zizou is the perfect refined compliment to its bolder sibling. The faces have multiple weights which gives us both a functional variety and a strong consistency. Our first big change was hiring Christian Schwartz to create two custom typefaces for us: FC Kaiser and FC Zizou (sans and serif). So our graphic approach reflects that editorial mission, with a restrained palette of graphic devices and a non-traditional use of photography and illustration. It’s not about stock prices and profits, but rather innovation and creativity.
What approach and changes have you brought to the magazine?įast Company is a different type of business magazine. I've been a fan of my fellow New Yorker Luke Hayman's work for as long as I can remember.įast Company has always had a reputation for strong design. The clarity and communication always stand out. I really admire the confident minimalism of many English designers. How do you see the differences between design in the two cities? Right now it’s Eight by Eight, the new football (soccer) magazine from Priest+Grace.Įditorial designers in London and New York tend to look across the Atlantic at each others’ work rather enviously.
What’s your favourite magazine this morning? I like to work for an hour or two every day before I head to the office, which fortunately for me is only a ten-minute bike ride away. We’re on the 29th floor, so it's a nice view of downtown Manhattan. In the Fast Company offices at 7 World Trade Center, in NYC. We look ahead at his week as he and his team complete design evolutions for the June issue of the magazine. He has been president of the Society of Publication Designers (SPD) and was on its board for five years. Florian is one of the leading figures in US editorial design, having worked for titles including Vibe, Village Voice, Entertainment Weekly and Latina. We start the new week with Florian Bachleda, Creative Director of Fast Company Media.