Recently in RIP Category

News Corp Shutting Down "The Daily" iPad Publication

News Corp. is ending its "bold experiment in digital publishing and an amazing vehicle for innovation" and shutting down The Daily -- launched only back in February of 2011.

"As part of a digital restructuring initiative, the company will cease standalone publication of The Daily iPad app on December 15, 2012, though the brand will live on in other channels. Technology and other assets from The Daily, including some staff, will be folded into The Post."

The last issue of The Daily will publish on December 15th.

Maurice Sendak Remembered

When Don Morris Design was producing issues of Nick Jr. Magazine, Editor in Chief Freddi Greenberg hired author Else Holmelund Minarik to create a story called "Little Bear's New Friend," the first new addition to the beloved Little Bear children's book series in over 30 years. Freddi really wanted Maurice Sendak to illustrate the story, reuniting the author and illustrator that created Little Bear. And she decided I was the best person to approach Maurice, who was noted for not doing commissions and not working in magazines. … MORE

Nick Dewar, 1973-2010

We received the very sad news today that noted illustrator Nick Dewar passed away. He was an amazing talent who worked with so many SPD members. His wonderfully brilliant illustrations and strong spirit and creative genius will be missed.

Nick Dewar--what a lovely man and dedicated friend. I can't believe he is gone in body but never, ever, ever in spirit. They surely threw away the mold when they made Nick. Those of us who were lucky to know him will have a void in our lives forever. Nick is survived by his wife, Sri.

A small family service will be held in Newport Beach later this week. A memorial service will be held in New York at a later date. Contributions can be made in Nick's name to radio station WFMU New Jersey.

The tasty brilliance of Cookie magazine

Children's/parents magazine Cookie debuted in November 2005, and left the Earth in October
2009. In that four-year run they established a look that was both playful and elegant, funky and chic, with tightly-refined typography and state-of-the-art illustration and photography. Design director Kirby Rodriguez and his art and photo crew were high-level smart in their approach to magazine-making.… MORE

RIP: I.D. Magazine Folds

Fast Company has the story: I.D. Magazine is closing after 55 years. Very sad news. Read more here.

(Photo above courtesy Fast Company.)

Met Home's Final Issue

Earlier this week, despite reports that the shelter category is rebounding, Hachette shuttered Metropolitan Home. Here we take a look at some of the work from the now-final December 2009 issue... … MORE

RIP: Metropolitan Home

Folio: and the Times' Media Decoder blog reported this afternoon that Hachette is shuttering shelter title Metropolitan Home (and presumably the @MetHome twitter account), to focus resources on company mag Elle Décor. Staffers at MH have confirmed the sad news; December's issue is the last.

Say It Ain't So: Condé Closes Four Magazines

Daily Intel, Gawker and Folio: are reporting that Condé Nast shuttered four titles this morning: Cookie, Elegant Bride, Gourmet and Modern Bride. More news as it's known, but not a good Monday morning...

George Pitts: Notes On Vibe Magazine

As news swept around last week, in e-mails and trending Twitter topics, that Hip Hop bible Vibe would be the latest magazine to close its doors, the response was felt deeply throughout the SPD community. As many wrote to us to point out, the obit for Vibe written by David Carr of The New York Times was a thoughtful and generous reflection, but said too little about the creative teams who have worked to elevate Hip Hop and the specific culture Vibe both reflected, and created. We asked George Pitts, Vibe's founding Photography Director, for his thoughts about Vibe's place in our collective history, and are honored to share those here:

In what was an unprecedented week of devastating losses to our culture, including the deaths of Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and the great visionary choreographer Pina Bausch, it was also the week that Vibe magazine folded. The close of Vibe is obviously an event of great personal impact for me, as its first Photography Director, and I've received enough notices from well-wishers to understand that the magazine meant a lot of things to a diverse community of readers.

… MORE

GK Investigation > > > Clips finally released to SPD

***N*E*W*S*  *R*E*L*E*A*S*E***

After many months of negotiation, and many months of fine tuning the details, the undercover magazine industry investigation group known as GKI, or GK Investigation, is finally able to release numerous clips to the Society of Publication Design, SPD, for use on their blog.
… MORE