Magazine Prescription.

I nearly had a heart attack at Borders this past Sunday. But to tell you that story, I have to first tell you this one:

I took a Publication class this quarter. We had to concept a new magazine, design a masthead (logo), 3 covers, a 3-spread feature, table of contents, editors letter, and a few department spreads. I first created "homeREC", a DIY recreational mag. that mixed "ReadyMade" with "Sports Illustrated"; but, I was having too many issues with the content and everyone would always laugh and say "home wrecker". So I changed it, turned it into a recreational mag that simply promotes getting off the couch. I called it "activity". The departments were based on the senses, ACT, SEE, EAT, HEAR....these are things you do when you go out, when you do something. It was for singles and couples, 20-40, that would have talked about Disc Golf, sports on a date, beach fun, museums, concerts, even had an article on new Rollercoasters coming out this year. Anyway, the concept and the masthead succeeded in critique last Tuesday night, but my layouts were weak and conflicting.

So...

At Borders, I was cleaning up the magazine rack and saw the July/August Premiere issue of "Weekend" magazine (weekend.net), 'the new magazine that makes the most of the time we call our own.' It talks about different things to do for a great weekend, home or away. It has an aesthetic style very similar to "Real Simple", feminine, for families, clean, and a good read. THEY STOLE MY IDEA! Or at least, the generalities of my idea. There was even a blurb about wooden rollercoasters around the country. How unbelievable is this? So I bought it, and I'll probably prescribe a year's worth of the mag to make me feel worse.