33 OPEN
Have you ever felt guilty for passing up a newspaper in favor of a more aesthetically appealing glossy filled with high design and couture? Scott Stowell and his design firm Open offer absolution for those who would prefer to learn about the world in style.

Good magazine, which launched in 2006, conspicuously encourages critical thinking about major current issues in society. Stowell’s design concept for Good was directly influenced by the layout of a newspaper page, which as he explains, is “made up of so many different parts that all work together. It has that energy, plus the sense of simultaneity that comes from different ideas, stories and typefaces sharing the page. I wanted to capture that in the pages of Good.” Stowell and his team tailor clever graphics and color schemes for each installment of the magazine to help convey editorial messages and moods, making a design statement that flows consistently through the entire magazine. In the first issue, a page full of Tomas Porostocky’s animal-shaped stickers bearing the American flag pattern complements the “I heart America” phrase printed on every editorial page. In Good,, unique surprises like these are created by Stowell and Open to effectively express a sense of awareness and a point of view about the reader’s place in the world. by Sharon Noh