Voxpop

Veteran men’s magazine Esquire is relaunching in a bid to appeal to the more sophisticated reader you might associate with Tyler Brûlé’s latest monthly, Monocle. How can design best address this market?

It’s a brave move. Esquire seems to be taking the lead in changing the market’s direction and it should be encouraged. The problem with lads’ mags is that they all look the same, so anything any of them can do to differentiate themselves to stand out is a smart move. It also makes sense to evolve the look and content of the magazine as its readers mature, so a rethink and a redesign makes good sense. Going A5 is a nice move, too. I really like the feel of smaller titles like The New Yorker and The Economist, though graphically it will be interesting to see how Esquire addresses the issue of photography in the smaller format. Ecologically, smaller makes sense too.
Fernando Gutiérrez, Founder, Studio Fernando Gutiérrez