Urbanism and migration have been the topics of past issues of Here Magazine. Now, the newest edition, Here No. 3: The Energy Issue, addresses the most defining issue of our time. Creative design and straightforward copy present what can seem like complicated information about energy in a visually arresting way.

Iconologic, an Atlanta, Georgia-based design firm, creates the annual Here with client Cooper Carry, an architecture and planning firm. The magazine’s main function is to demonstrate the company’s thought leadership on relevant issues to its client base – developers, architects, builders, university design programs – the publication’s scope, however, looks far beyond its typical audience.

“Here does what marketing can’t for the firm. By delivering original content, thoughtfully and beautifully presented, Here has helped communicate the research and insight of Cooper Carry. Cooper Carry’s president has called it ‘the most important piece of communication media we have ever produced,’” said Matt Rollins, Creative Director, Iconologic.

Presented in an original and relevant way with intensely creative information graphics, Here contains essays, original and excerpted journalism, photographic galleries, historical perspectives, all with a sharp focus on current subject.

A Unique Take
From Leonardo da Vinci’s first observance of solar power in 1515, to a complex calculation of the total energy expended to grow, harvest, transport and refrigerate the contents of a countertop bowl of fruit, Here No. 3 provides a unique examination of energy as it relates to consumption, alternative resources, an impending crisis and sustainable design.

Iconologic’s Editorial Director Juliet D’Ambrosio says, “Every magazine, corporation and media source in 2007 addressed the issues of energy and sustainability in some way.  The challenge of this project was to have a unique take on the issue, presenting ubiquitous and often hard-to-engage information in an interesting, entertaining and understandable way.

“Thorough research led us to a diverse table of contents meant to engage people at different levels, and to show the various relationships of people, energy and environments—and how those played out, specifically in the year 2007.”

The sincerity of Here’s message was maintained in the paper chosen to produce the book.  D’Ambrosio says, “Here has to have as much gravity and richness in its physical state as the ideas presented on its pages. It also has to be beautiful—it’s a visual publication intended to represent a visually oriented company. So, to demonstrate commitment to sustainability, the paper (and paper company) had to reflect an exemplary commitment to the environment.”

D’Ambrosio continues, “By using Beckett Concept and Beckett Expression, we were able to produce a very high-end coffee table piece on stocks that were 100 percent and 30 percent recycled, FSC certified and made carbon neutral.”

Producing Here on Mohawk’s Beckett papers created an immediate environmental impact equal to preserving 86 trees, saving 36,672 gallons of wastewater, not creating 249 lbs. of waterborne waste, and not consuming 61,152,337 BTUs of energy.

Here’s Impact
Here has been a success for Cooper Carry in many respects; it has led directly to new business and new recruits for the firm. “There are a few instances that have been shared with us of clients calling Cooper Carry to do projects specifically after reading a copy of Here, and new architects coming to work at the firm saying that they want to be a part of the firm that creates Here Magazine,” says D’Ambrosio.

D’Ambrosio and the Iconologic team have also found that creating Here for Cooper Carry has had a profound effect on the company’s culture. “We hear people are more engaged, more outspoken, more willing to take a strong stand on issues they care about.  And, daily, Cooper Carry is challenged to practice their profession in a way that lives up to the level of ideas expressed in Here,” says D’Ambrosio.

Through a powerfully original view in both design and content, Here holds true to its intent as is stated in its Editor’s Note, “The moments we experience are marked by the environments in which we experience them. Here Magazine explores this intersection of time and place, providing the point from which we reflect on the world around us and define our place in it—an outlet through which to channel our ideas and ideals.”

For more information on Mohawk’s Beckett Concept and Beckett Expression, go to www.mohawkpaper.com.

To request a sample of Here Magazine, click here.  

5/14/08