38 THE BANG
“If you look beyond the McDonalds, Starbucks, and WalMarts, every city has its own inimitable typographic style,” states Coupe magazine in a preamble to issue 15, devoted to “the very best 24 typographic destinations” in the magazine’s hometown of Toronto. And Coupe magazine likewise has its own inimitable style—even though pretty much everything about it, from paper to editorial content, changes issue to issue. “In fact, the only thing that stays the same is the trim size,” remarks art director Bill Douglas.

“In Toronto, everything’s being gentrified,” he says about the theme for issue 15, “so it was sort of ‘document it now because it will all be gone five years down the road.’” The concept for this issue actually presented itself to Douglas two years ago; he began compiling photos and notes, and the issue started “organically composing itself” as time went on. The resulting format mixes full-page photos, minimal text and “flourishes of collage thrown in to illustrate the theme.” It’s very much in keeping with the usual approach of this twice-a-year magazine of visual culture, of which Douglas says, “I regard it less as a magazine and more as an art installation.” And while he has no grand plan for exposing the world to Coupe, the magazine has developed a devoted, growing readership and won international recognition. “We don’t attempt to be mainstream,” Douglas emphasizes. “We’re not about the glamorous or the obvious. We’re into challenging the reader’s expectations of what a magazine is.” by Tom Biederbeck