The Clean Magazine Project

Remember when a magazine was about the articles? Nowdays, it seems as though magazines are all about the ads. Ads are okay, don't get me wrong. Advertising helps bring magazine prices down. What I am complaining about is the proliferation of inserts, that is pieces of advertising made in hard papers to stand out when you flip through the magazine. Inserts are very common in design magazines, because they're used to promote some special kind of paper: recycled, extra-white, textured, etc. However, this practice makes using the magazine very cumbersome. The inserts will get in your way when you are reading, they will bend a magazine the wrong way, etc.

Over the years, I've had fantasies where I trim all the inserts from the magazines, making them easier to use. I even came up with a name for that: the Clean Magazine Project. I kept making it aside as time went on, because I didn't want to endure the hassle of trimming a publication and risk cutting a page or two of content.

But the latest issue of Print (January/February) pushed me over the edge. Here I was, holding the magazine in my hand I couldn't really use it. It would open in the wrong places again and again because of the incredible amount of inserts it contained. I tried to endure it for about five minutes before I cracked. I got so frustrated I ripped the biggest advertising off with my very own hands. Before I knew it, I had taken the magazine over to my workspace and, using a paper knife, had proceeded to cut away every single advert I could find. In the end, over ten pieces of cardboard were at my feet. When you consider that the magazine has about 110 pages, it comes down to one insert every 11 pages. Ridiculous.

To the many magazine advertisers who plan to use inserts, I say: bring it.
The Clean Magazine Project is now officially ON.