Today I was
fortunate enough to sit in front of Rosa Park, editor and creator of Bristol
based magazine, Cereal. As part of my Publishing course at Bath Spa we receive
lectures by ‘industry insiders’ in a quest to help us find our feet. Dressed in
a chic monochrome dress with her coat slung over her shoulders, Rosa began to
tell us her adventure with Cereal and publishing…
Being an
independent magazine consisting of three employees, Rosa typically works
between 60/70 hours a week. Working in such a small team gives them ‘agility’ and
the chance to focus on what they want to creatively. They often travel
together, discuss their own visions and ideas for the magazine as well as hang
out. Rosa came up with the idea for an independent food and travel magazine
that didn't have the typical food recipes and chef interviews in 2011.
The design of Cereal is minimal and simple, which has now, Rosa states, become
a trend. She doesn’t want to be typecast but feels minimalism is the answer to
timelessness. They hope the magazine won’t date and everything they include
will in some way be timeless e.g. parks, museums, languages, so if you picked
it up from under a suitcase in the attic in ten years time it would still be
relevant. Their ‘geeky, historic’ approach to the tightly focused brand helps
to achieve that.
Unlike other
magazines, Cereal is divided into chapters with 8-10 articles in each chapter.
An interesting fact Rosa shared with us about the logo is each little line
dividing the letters ‘Cereal’ replicates the shelves on a bookshelf – nice
touch.
Online
Cereal replicates the print magazine wonderfully. With the same minimalist,
clean style the website acts as a ‘shop window to the world.’ More people will
see the website than they will print so it’s important to create ‘great
content.’ It has to be punchy, snappy with online articles and the great thing
about the web is – if you don’t like it, you can remove it!
What hit me
most about the team is their passion and dedication to the magazine. It shows
that if you want it enough, you can do it. The designer, Rich Stapleton, said:
‘You can always change your track’ and ‘Pick what’s right for you,’ which is
comforting to hear as an undergraduate stuck in a misty cloud of decision-making.
