It’s goodbye from Design Week in print, but we’ll still have a digital presence

Lynda - Issue

This is a sad week for the Design Week team as we publish the last issue of the magazine. The title lives on to deliver daily news about design, but the print version is no more.

It will be 25 years in September since Jeremy Myerson launched the weekly, recognising the role design then a cottage industry might play in UK society and bringing together the community. In the 22 years I have been involved, that community has grown into a tour de force in commerce and culture, despite various recessions, and while the fervor remains from those early days, it is a burgeoning, international business now.

There are too many highlights for me to list, but meeting so many great creative people has been awesome

Last week the Design Council hosted a ’summit’, Design for Growth, to engage Government in a ’conversation’ about design’s ability to make a difference to the nation’s balance sheet and to people’s lives. With Universities and Science Minister David Willetts and Small Business Minister Mark Prisk in attendance, the message was put across in a powerful way through example rather than rhetoric.

This is one of the great joys of design. It is about listening and doing rather than talking, and it is about sharing. I am very proud to have been part of the industry’s development and hope I will remain so, though in a different guise now.

There are too many highlights for me to list here, but the privilege of meeting so many great creative people has been awesome. Linking with designers across the globe, particularly in South Africa, has made the past 20 years special for me personally and professionally. And the eternal optimism of design has rubbed off.
Thank you all for your support over the years and for the great work you continue to produce. Long may that continue.

I hand over now to my colleagues Angus Montgomery, Tom Banks and Emily Gosling who will take Design Week into its next phase. They are amply qualified for the task. I wish them well.

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Comments
  • Alain November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Dear Lynda, thank you so much for all the hard work that has gone into Design Week over the years. From when I was a student and used to pay a fortune to buy DW at the only WHSmith in Paris, throughout my career, DW has always been there as a beacon.
    And my wife hates me for all the piles of DW I have kept over the years. How can I possibly get rid of them now?
    Best of luck to all of the team. And to you Lynda.
    I probably wouldn’t be where I am now if it wasn’t for you.

    ps. You did let some publish some complete b****cks every now and then though 😉

  • Sue Bradburn November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Design Week has been a trailblazer throughout its existence. In particular it has helped bring the work of so many of our design graduates to a wide – and highly influential – audience. I’m utterly devastated to hear of its demise (in its original incarnation anyhow).

    Long may the online edition continue the great tradition set by the magazine. Lynda, we owe you and your wonderfully talented team a huge debt of gratitude for all you have done for our graduates over the years. You’ll be sorely missed.

    Aine Duffy
    Head of Media Relations and Marketing
    Royal College of Art

  • David White November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I’m sure I’m not the only reader to be quite bewildered by this decision and can’t see what possible good it can do, other than save the publishers money.

    Additionally puzzling is the continued invitation to ‘Subscribe Now’ without mention of the absence of a magazine. And what happens for those who subscribed to the magazine, thinking they would get one?

    Thank you very much Lynda and the team for ensuring that DW has interested and inspired me for many years (in ways digital doesn’t and won’t).

  • louisa pacifico November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    This really is so sad, I adore you and your team so much and I can’t thank you enough for giving me the opportunity to contribute over the years through New Designers.

    The only magazine I’ve ever subscribed too was DW as a geeky 16 year old girl and now its gone. Online or print.. it will not be the same without you at the helm.

    I look forward to supporting you in your next venture!

    Louisa

  • J Owen November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I am bereft.

  • Jonathan Elliman November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Targeting resubscribers when you know the magazine is going to be pulled is very cynical. We are not interested in paying to read a website. We’ll just go elsewhere for our news.

  • Marc Mcintyre November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I have had a copy of design week on my desk since I first started work in the industry in 93.

    I’m sadly not surprised fighting this a fools battle. Unfortunately most tabloids are looking in the same direction… but for me this is the beginning of the end and the start of the beginning.

  • Richard Edgerton November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Gutted.

    I thought the point of on line was to improve our experience of media, not replace or diminish other forms of it

  • Jon Plumb November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    As a business owner, I can understand the commercial pressure and as a designer part of my job is to embrace change, however I can only see this as a negative move and short sighted

    The experience of sitting down at a lunch time AWAY from the screen is now lost. You will have lost my readership for two reasons…..

    1. I want to flick through the publication at my leaisure and speed and not have to visit every web page. Online will enhance my experience, it will become another bookmark that would never be visited.

    2. Design Week accepted our subscription less than 4 weeks ago with no mention of going online. We have no interest in online periodicals, and will now concetrate on New Design subscription to another printed publication.

    Where’s my refund on the subscription, becuase if you are not forthcoming in providing it, I will be coming to you to ask for it!

  • Stephen Bass November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Please can we have some info on refund options.

  • Giuseppe Rampello November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    A sad day I think, there is nothing like having the printed article in your hands. A real shame and surely a loss of subscribers?

  • Jo Ferguson November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I am really upset by this, I saved up for a subscription, as I’m a student it was hard work, but my tutors said it would be worth while. and I justified it by saying I would get a years supply of issues out of it, I haven’t even received 3 months.

    digital is not what I wanted. I wanted a printed magazine, I feel like I have been cheated.I can’t even get my money back to subscribe to a real magazine

  • Rachel Dean November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I am also sad that the print version is not continuing. I will miss the thud on the doormat on a Thursday and the prospect of leafing through new design developments, while giving my eyes a break from the screen. Everything I design is still in print – it’s tactile, tangible and keepable. I won’t be half as inclined to browse endless web pages for inspiration.

  • Simon Richards November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    No reply to emails, no answering of calls? How can we contact you about refunds on subscriptions? We subscribe from abroad and have had to pay a premium for postage, at least the must be refunded?

  • Denise Harris November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I am very unhappy. As a graphic designer I enjoy seeing things in print, not on the screen. I spend all day at my computer screen so I don’t want to read my magazines on-line as well.
    I also only re-subscribed a few weeks ago and there was no mention of the magazine going on-line.

  • Laura McQueen October 13, 2013 at 11:59 pm

    Hi all, thanks for the feedback. Please be rest assured that our customer services team are standing by the phones to help with all of your enquiries. Please call them directly on +(44) 020 7292 3703 between 9.30 am and 5.30 pm GMT.

    All subscribers should also have now received a letter explaining the changes in the subscription package and giving you all several options moving forward.

    Thanks for your patience.

  • Mikyla Hickey November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I renewed my four separate subscriptions less than a month ago, and at no time was there any mention of this publication going on line…

    I am part of a large company, and having multiple copies floating around the office has proved extremely beneficial as our designers can discuss during their lunch breaks and at their leisure…

    I suspect, bringing them back to their screen for yet another reason will stifle any creativity usually generated during these free design discussions.

    I will be contacting you regarding a refund shortly.

  • Michael Tomes October 14, 2013 at 10:31 am

    It is more than that though. Design Week as a whole is rather poor. They haven’t moved with the times and most of the articles seem to be from a select group that do it for self promotion.

    It used to be good and now is no more.

    Centaur killed off MAD with poor management decisions and it was a matter of time they kill of DW altogether.

    A huge chunk of their money used to come from recruitment – now http://www.creativepool.co.uk/ seems to have the creative/design side sown up and http://www.brandrepublic.com/ for all the suits out there.

  • Mr Wolf November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    It’s to be expected…. we used to subscribe to DESIGN magazine, then DW but but the issue was getting thinner. One issue is now being shared amongst a few designers. There was no value for money.

    The back section was full of job ads. Ads have have gone online the advertisers have disappeared.

    Like Habitat it was just not moving with the times.

    RIP

  • Tom Gloesener November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    This is scandalous!

    We renewed our subscription only three weeks ago and there was no mention about DW being stopped. The online version is no satisfaction what so ever – it is not even well designed.

    We are a company from Luxembourg, which means that we also had to pay for higher postage.

    This is a complete rip off! We want ou money back!!!

  • Katrin Fuernschuss November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I’m very unhappy that DW is not a proper magazine anymore. Having a magazine online is not the same as I spend already all my day working on the computer. I loved the magazine, since I started reading it 6 years ago. Such a shame you stopped it. You did brilliant work!

    Thank god, I only have 1 more month left on my subscription, otherwise I would be very angry like most of the subscribers from the UK and abroad. I kept receiving letters to subscribe for another 1/2/3 years, without any mention of the changes. Glad, I didn’t subscribe, otherwise I would feel cheated.

    Is there no way, that DW will go back to a printed version? Hopefully going digital only will proof wrong in the future.

  • Ian Morgan November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Your notification letter is poorly written and confusing. I still can’t figure out whether i will be automatically charged for a subscription of Creative Review after 28 days now or not. I logged into my DW account to try and find some more info, and it states that i am not even subscribed to DW!

    A shambles all-round, like many other readers, i never would have renewed my subscription in January if i knew that the print version was being discontinued.

    Canceling my subscription…..if that’s actually possible.

  • Bob November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Im off to Subscribe to Computer Arts Magazine instead!!

    Anyone else unhappy should too!

  • LIsa Lanfranchi November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Very sad. An online magazine will never be the same as a printed one.

    You used to have very good inserts on packaging, branding and so on. What about those now?

    There will be an important loss in subscribers.

  • Mário Mandacaru November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Even Harry Potter had his last day… It was a privilege to be a subscriber and with sadness I understand the circumstance. I want to congratulate the entire DW team for keeping me well informed the last decades.
    It became digital? ok, let’s be digital 🙂
    Cheers

  • Ashley Filer November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I thought I’d give it a few weeks to see how it would work, I don’t see the site doing much. It has left subscribers with nothing but confusion. You don’t have long left on my subscription to prove otherwise

  • Andrea Siodmok November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I was in Paris this week and French locals were talking about the loss of Design Week in print. I think you have done an amazing job and have been proud to be a supporter and subscriber and occassional advertiser. I can’t think of a better way to share ideas with the industry and whilst this may be a sign of the economic times it won’t be the same without you in print.

  • Ben November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Very sad times.

    Like others have said. It was great to to get away from looking at the computer screen and read the magazine having lunch.

    With the amount of blogs and bookmarks will Design Week be lost, or shine threw with amazing internet content? And how will they cope with blogs that comment and paste articles for free?

  • Jonathan Platt November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    It is sad the printed copies are no more – they have been an inspiration to us all.

    Can you imagine if we could spin it all on it’s head and the digital version had existed since the beginning and then came the idea of printed handheld copies. People would be falling over themselves to get one.

    Similar to music – it exists in digital form – then someone invents vinyl records with a gatefold cover. 4 x 12″ canvas to design brilliant images relating to the album – marvellous!

    Jonathan Platt
    Business Development
    1977 Design

  • Mike Cryer November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Very short sighted I think. We were about to advertise for the first time in the magazine (recruitment), but will now think twice and wait until we get some sort of assessment for how many people use the online version. For example, will this be ABC audited in future? The current audit certainly does not apply now.

  • Stuart Chapman November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    A real shame.

    I only subscribe to Design Week for the magazine which for me was a welcome relief from looking at my screen all day!

    Refund please.

  • eddie taylor November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Web Design Bolton

  • Hannah Griffin November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Coming from a family of Graphic Designers I have been reading design week since I could walk – now a design graduate in my first job out of university I am devastated that it is no longer being printed..

    A sad, sad day.

  • Richard Parry November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Not really happy about the online only option, (also understanding what I actually get has been poorly communicated) need something tangible, things are far too digital. Was good to have a break away from the screen with a coffee and DW, such a shame.

    Watch out Creative Review!!!

  • george bevan November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I absolutely agree with those who are disappointed in losing the printed magazine. The reason being that there is no channeling or focusing of information, I now find myself not knowing where to look! It seems I cannot even print full articles out, even though I am subscribed. Great shame indeed.

  • karl shaw November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Along with all the others we too are upset and annoyed at the loss of a printed magazine and having only recently subscribed it makes it an even bitter pill to swallow. We never would have subscribed if we had known it was going digital. The beauty of DW was the fact that it was printed and reading it was a welcome break away from the screen. It is no longer an experience and you can tell how often we will look at the digital version from the date of this comment, and we only logged on to complain and ask for a refund. Without question we will not be re-subscribing to DW.

  • Jane Moody November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I was also really disappointed that you stopped printing this with no warning. I’m not sure it was a very sensible decision as your subscriptions will certainly drop dramatically – surely a bit of market research would have been done prior to this decision? As others have said, reading the printed version was a relaxing break from the screen that i used to really look forward to. Shame.

  • AnsteyDesign November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Can’t believe Design Week has gone (from print) a very sad day.

  • Caroline Robinson November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    It’s just not as good viewing on-line. I liked the fact that I can read about design away from the computer. The on line version doesn’t give the same experience with tiny pictures in comparison to the printed media. Real shame.

  • Julia Cassim November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Why is it not possible to have it as a monthly magazine, it would then have scope for in-depth articles alongside the news? It’s such a shame to see it go in a print version

  • Junior Designer November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I used DW as a constant source if inspiration throughout my degree, I finally have a job and am in a position to subscribe …

    I am absolutely gutted.

  • David Bartholomew November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    It would be nice to have an article addressing some of the points made here.

  • Rowland Heming November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Lynda,
    I only just found out about this, living in Belgium, it’s no longer an every day thing to look at Design Week. But there was a time that this was essential reading, DW united and inspired so many young designers, including myself at the time. Hopefully it will continue to do so in the new format.
    Your personal role both in the magazine and out and about at design events has always been crucial to help building the profile of our profession and for that we must always be very grateful. Thank you for all the years you have given us and all you have taught us.

    I wish you well in whatever comes next.

    Rowland

  • Mark Magidson November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    a 2014 update – how I long for the black (metaphorical) ink on my fingers – come back Design Week in the printed form – I note the bible can still be bought in print – so why not…

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