Volume 19–4 (Low Res).pdf

avid Carson is tired of the celebrity photo formula in magazines. He wants a
magazine which is a reality check editorially and visually.
The magazine he proposes would be thematic and focused on socially rel-
evant issues with strong visuals as well as perceptive text. He explains, "Arrow
would be a magazine dealing with contemporary themes. It would juxtapose
art and music with significant social issues since I believe these are all related. It
would emphasize substance rather than fluff, and I intend to use graphic artists, illustrators,
photographers and computer artists to highlight and interpret the material in
a significant way"
Carson refers to Arrow as "self-driven" and "purpose-driven" by which he means
each issue would change according to its content. With no grid and a loose format,
each edition of Arrow would have a design "driven largely by the visuals," says Carson,
explaining, "The artists commissioned would not only interpret through illustrations
or photographs, but would contribute to the inherent editorial message:
The typography, too, would be more than neat columns with typeset text and headlines.
"Today, people are less willing to attack a gray page of type: he states. The type
must be interpretive. According to Carson, "Type should be expressive and convey
the mood and the content through what it looks like as well as what the words say.
'Type as type cannot not communicate. Each typeface has a personality. Type should
also be readable, but not necessarily in the usual sense—people will read what looks
interesting or what interests them':
Carson's approach to typography is nothing
if not emotional, He manipulates type and shapes
it almost illustratively so that it forces a reader to
see shapes and forms and jarring constructs as
well as words. "I want the typography to reveal
the feeling of the story immediately, so that the
readers are drawn into the type and then
rewarded with great writing when they start to
read the text'
Carson predicts that there is an urban, savvy,
international audience who are waiting to have
a magazine deal with issues while having them
presented in a memorable and unpredictable
way. This is an untapped audience, he feels, who
were reading Beach Culture (an award-winning,
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COVER: ART DIRECTOR: DAVID CARSON
GRAPHIC DESIGNER: MARTIN VENEZKY
now defunct cult magazine he designed). These
readers he believes are also anxious to find sub
jects with the energy associated with the eclectic
Beach Culture.
In some ways, the new style and music mag
azine ray Gun (Carson is the design consultant)
moves in this direction with an impudent use of
type and arresting visuals (like a photographic
essay by Matt Mahurin). But Arrow Carson points
out, would have a more socially conscious and
serious role; it would be the thinking person's
version of contemporary culture, counter culture,
politics and relevant issues. For Carson, Arrow
is the medium for integrating music, art and pro
gressive ideas through expressive design.
Carson's editorial design style is inherent in Arrow—layouts which are dense and
overlayed; expressive computer-manipulated type which dramatically portrays the
content; a passionate use of illustration and photography. His style of working—which
involves using a computer, then arranging and rearranging type, images and texts on
board, montaging the layouts so to speak—he intends to continue.
An added feature proposed for Arrow is the inclusion of a music CD in its music
review section. "The reader should be able to hear what is being reviewed," Carson
states. And Carson is definite that Arrow will still be produced and printed as a maga.
zine as opposed to becoming a disk since he feels people still need to hold a magazine,
to smell it, turn the pages and feel they can browse, observe, read, and return to it.