Stuffed with Page Turners

Creative magazines making content to follow

No matter how digital the world becomes, I think my first love will always be print. I understand the need for less paper and am for anything that helps heal our planet. But, every once in a while, I treat myself with a single issue or subscription to a print pub. There’s something so beautiful about the tactile nature of it and the joy of turning the page to reveal what’s next that is lost on the scroll. Yes, I absolutely subscribe to digital pubs and follow plenty of incredible feeds, but some appreciation should be paid to a list of print mags stuffing my mailbox with the good stuff and giving us all a break from the dreaded doom scroll. AND if you would rather have a happy surprise delivered to your inbox rather than your mailbox, digital versions and inspo newsletters are available for all these pubs.

Enjoy! And if you think I’ve left something out here, please share! Dm us @harthousecreative on Instagram.

1. Whalebone: Subscribe here This magazine is just cool. The tone of voice has got a bit of an edge but in a really entertaining way that speaks to the cynical designer that whispers to you in the depths of your brain. Art is fresh, and I look forward to receiving their newsletter as well. Plus, it’s only $5 for each issue!

2. Juxtapoz Subscribe here A new addition to my coffee table. Juxtapoz magazine presents a gallery of underground artists who influence much of the fashion, graphics, and new art we see today, and its readers are the tastemakers who discern the newest cultural trends.

3. Communication Arts Subscribe here I’ve subscribed to this one off and on for years. It’s almost cliché to put it on the list, but it’s a classic. Their back issues are really fun to go through as well if you have the time to peek through their online archives once you are a subscriber.

4. Riposte Subscribe here Where my ladies at?! I love that this magazine features women breaking boundaries and doing great things. Plus, the magazine’s design is so fresh, clean, and calming to go through. It was an easy addition to this list.

5. Positive News Subscribe here Says it in the title. And as the mag says, “Break the bad news habit.” Or at least break it up with some good. Real stories about real people doing really good things all wrapped up in a designy bow.

Honorable Mentions go to a few I haven’t personally had delivered to my office but have come highly recommended to me or are on my radar for a future order.

1. Slanted

2. Eye

3. Creative Review

4. 3x3

5. What Women Create

6. Imagine FX

7. Aesthetica

BONUS TRACK

This one isn’t a mag, but I absolutely adore this artist and he just released a graphic novel that is bringing me quite a bit of joy. So, I thought I’d show him some love here.

Title: I Always Think It’s Forever

By: Timothy Goodman

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Everything we share here is meant to be helpful and inspiring. We’re speaking from experience. Please consult a qualified professional to help make decisions. You are responsible for how you choose to use this information, and we are not liable for any loss, damages, or issues that may arise. We can’t be responsible for how things play out, but we’re always rooting for your success!

Credits

Author and Editor: Jenn Hart (More About Me)

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Subscribe to The Squeeze on our little piece of the internet to get design promotions, resources, stories about other creatives, and inspiration for your eyeballs and brainstorms.

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Keep creating Hartists! Follow @harthousecreative on Instagram and Linkedin.

For the Love of Color

HART BEAT

Call me sentimental! Hot off the heels of a wedding planning trip with my fiancé, this month’s Hart Beat could only be inspired by love. Creatives seek color inspo constantly–at least I know I do. I pulled a few wedding palettes that have tickled my fancy over the last few months during planning. Classic with just a hint of the unexpected–a theme that plays out in Hart House Creative’s design work as well.

Finding beautiful spring palettes inspired by wedding design would be too easy, especially in the beautiful Temecula, California wine country where we are saying I Do in a few months. So, to make it more challenging and bring some context to how a palette in one creative endeavor can inspire another, I included a few pieces below of design by our Hart House team and others that translate these palettes into functional design for advertising.

PINK AND GREEN

This sort of palette lends itself pretty easily to a vintage sensibility, organic product or a cool twist for branding that adds a modern touch of pink to the mostly neutral palette. An addition of navy, as in the logo below, can also be an excellent choice for an expanded complimentary palette color.

Aim Events, Logo by Hart House Creative

Poster designs by PinkSundayPrints

Brand design by Brighton Made

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BLUE AND GRAY

This palette can work in many design styles, from hyper-modern to shabby chic. It’s a pretty versatile palette, depending on whether you lean into the softer tones or use the darker color at the top end of the palette to anchor your piece.

Product design by Red Bubble

Interior Design by Kara Miller

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BURGUNDY AND DARK BLUE

I love that this color combo can shift from a formal feel to whimsical by pulling from the deeper, richer side of the palette or popping into the blush and peach that lighten the other side of it.

Wallpaper by Graham & Brown

The Cosmopolitan, ad by Hart House Creative

Ceramic design by Lindsay Emery

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Travel inspires us, whether visiting a local spot that brings charm and life to our hometown, Las Vegas, or while exploring somewhere far away. Every new place and face is a teacher filling our hearts and our creative well to power up and pull from for our next project.

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#designinspo

Enjoy this month's selection of artists and creators rocking our inspiration board. Thanks, Creatives, for filling our heads and hearts with all the good stuff!

@_humblebeings

Reconnect with your inner child through daily form-making.

@maryonadventures

Welcome to Mary's colorful art land, supplying you with cactus & feminist art daily.

@battlebornpins

Enamel Pins for Nevada Lovers (Like us). #bornandraised

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Everything we share here is meant to be helpful and inspiring. We’re speaking from experience. Please consult a qualified professional to help make decisions. You are responsible for how you choose to use this information, and we are not liable for any loss, damages, or issues that may arise. We can’t be responsible for how things play out, but we’re always rooting for your success!

Credits

Author and Editor: Jenn Hart (More About Me)

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Popular Related Articles

• Building Your Brand Into Your Community

• Restaurant Branding Tips Unveiled

• 3 Little Things You Can Do To Make A Big Impact For Your Business

---

Subscribe to The Squeeze on our little piece of the internet to get design promotions, resources, stories about other creatives, and inspiration for your eyeballs and brainstorms.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Keep creating Hartists! Follow @harthousecreative on Instagram and Linkedin.

How to Apply a Brand Strategy and Brand Guide

Let your conscience guide your actions and brand guide inform your company decisions. So far, here at The Squeeze, we’ve shared the path of building a company with a brand-first approach with our Branding Map. Guest expert, Eileen Lemish, showed us all the power of Discovering Unique Tone of Voice Through Branding, and fellow brand expert Lauren Gouvea shared with us how to use branding to Create Connections with Customers.

So, you’ve followed the map, you’re creating authentic assets, including a brand guide and tone that creates a connection with the target audience. But strategy and guides are only useful tools if you use them. How do you use the brand strategy and guide created to apply all this beautiful authenticity to your marketing?

It’s not a secret! We’ll tell you.

Step 1: Commit This step is short and sweet–Commit to the rules you’ve set in the strategy and brand guide. This is your playbook to win the big game.

Step 2: Share

Use your brand guide and strategy docs as a teaching tool for staff and partners. Ensure all internal parties have access to the playbook, so everyone is on the same page and understands the importance of following along. Consider team training to communicate the real meaning behind the playbook.

Step 3: Remain Consistent

Be a champion of your brand strategy and brand guide. Believe in it so much that the mere thought of straying makes you ill. Consistency is one of the foundational elements of successful marketing. A mixed message can confuse your audience and water down your product/service.

Step 4: Resist Temptation

Trends are fleeting. It will be tempting to stray when a flash in the pan seems to be burning bright but stick to your guide and the company ethos defined. It will build lasting impact rather than short spurts of interest. If you think a rising trend in marketing could fit in with the strategy, by all means, marry them and capture the flag! But DO NOT sacrifice your genuine spirit to succumb to a fad.

Step 5 Review

Block time to regularly review marketing assets and internal communications to make sure the language and look is saying the right things. Reference your brand guide and strategy docs to check these important pieces.

Step 6: Be cautious Protect your authenticity. This is especially important in the early stages of the brand building when the audience and partners are getting to know you and learning to trust you. Everyone person you choose to work with, every job is done, and every customer pleased is a credit or discredit to your brand. Be thoughtful and stay true.

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Everything we share here is meant to be helpful and inspiring. We’re speaking from experience. Please consult a qualified professional to help make decisions. You are responsible for how you choose to use this information, and we are not liable for any loss, damages, or issues that may arise. We can’t be responsible for how things play out, but we’re always rooting for your success!

Credits

Author and Editor: Jenn Hart (More About Me)

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Popular Related Articles

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• 3 Little Things You Can Do To Make A Big Impact For Your Business

---

Subscribe to The Squeeze on our little piece of the internet to get design promotions, resources, stories about other creatives, and inspiration for your eyeballs and brainstorms.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Keep creating Hartists! Follow @harthousecreative on Instagram and Linkedin.