Bonnier has introduced a working concept of the Mag+, a product that is seeking to understand the experience of reading magazines on handheld digital devices. MNP recently caught up with Pontus Schultz of Bonnier R&D and asked him about the concept and its recent success with Popular Science+

Could you please describe the concept behind the Mag+?

This is one of several prototypes we’ve developed with our design partner Berg, based on our vision of future digital magazines that can be consumed on e-readers, smart phones, netbooks, etc. It’s a work in progress. We think there is a big focus on technology and e-readers but in the end, it’s about creating a product that is so good that people are willing to pay for it. But I should emphasize that this is a product designed for e-readers and not primarily for the Internet.

Who was behind the development of the Mag+?

Bonnier R&D and design partner BERG.

Where are the limits when reading into what the “magazine experience” is?

As our partners at BERG like to say: “The Mag+ platform is not a wrist screen running clock software… it is a watch.” The user doesn’t need to look through the device at the content. It is an immediate experience of the content. It will never feel like you’re working through the screen, it should feel like you’re touching the actual product. It is about body language, a natural interface, rather than a set of computery buttons.

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The Windy City Times recently talked with Aldo Castillo, Associate Director of the Miami International Art Fair, which happens January 13-17, 2011, about closing the award-winning gallery bearing his name and now identifying with a larger world. Below is an excerpt from the interview:

The art fair you’re becoming director of takes place in January?

Yes, Jan. 13-17. That’s the one I’m directing, but I’m helping, shaping the fair so it becomes competitive. Because the gallery behavior has totally changed-you don’t see that many customers walking by into galleries anymore. Galleries are facing new challenges and they have nothing to do with the economy, they have to do with technology. Galleries now depend on their websites for people to know where they are or what they do. Many people who like art like to go to art fairs because it’s like a little museum coming to you for three days or four days. When it comes to the business of people looking at art, art fairs are the prime today the main venue for selling art.

Why did you decide to keep your gallery here online?

Because I am considered one of the main voices for Latin American art. I have studied the movements in Latin American art, what sells, what doesn’t sell, the prices, the authenticity of the work, so I am a key person that is knowledgeable about that. When I decided to close the gallery, all these people advised me not to do it-to keep the name alive. It’s better to keep what I have done open.

.:windycitymediagroup.com->

Welcome back to another look around the art side of business per say (whether it be in music, photography or even some sciences). This week MNP and the Industry talks with Tadafumi Aoza of Cataci.com part of style-pd, a speciality art shop based in Japan, Sweden, France and the US.

Product Name :Another Crypto 1
Designer : Dizel & Sate
Producer: Dizel & Sate
Product information: Dizel & Sate’s graffiti design is delivered as pizza slice! Limited edition of 30.
Material : Digital print on painted mdf board. Back sockets included.
Size: 58 x 58 x 3 cm (22,8 x 22,8 x 1,2 inch)
Weight per piece: 7.0kg

Could you please introduce yourself and outline your role at Cataci?

Cataci.com’s main objective is to offer a global platform for independent creators such as freelance designers and smaller companies who we think are truly unique, talented, and contributing to society.We aim to build a creative platform which is located at the opposite end of the mass production.

How did Cataci decide on the format, “limited releases by independent creators” ?

We realized that there are many web stores which are selling exactly the same products, and thought that we should do something different. On top of that, we also think that there are so many independent creators who have brilliant ideas, but not being able to survive due to the fact that large companies are focused on mass products and making profits. So we thought that we can help them out.

What have been some of Cataci’s most surprising products (in terms of customer response) that you have represented?

Metaphys’s Planters (Factory/Picture)

Product Name :Factory / Rectangle
Designer : Chiaki Murata
Producer: Metaphys
Product information: Living with “Green” makes you feel relaxed and comfortable. Metaphys’s planters are the replacement for flowers and plants that would normally need lots of attention. Keep it moist all the time by watering every day. Water the seeds sparingly until the first sprout appears in a week or two. It grows up to 40cm - 50cm in the temperature over 20 degrees (Celsius) or 68 degrees (Fahrenheit) which is the normal room temperature. All the Metaphys’s planters come with orchard grass seeds and water retention agent. Once it grows, you can cut it so that the surface of the plants will be even.
Material : ABS Resin
Size: 340×170x85mm
Weight per piece: 1.24

These products are based on minimalist Japanese design, but it also shows the traditional Japanese spirit in which we co-exist with nature. Liviing with nature is something very natural for Japanese, and Metaphys’s planters have made it more universal and appealing to the people outside Japan.

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The first installment of a DVD magazine about art and music, the DOJO comprises 8 interviews with Chicago’s emerging artists. The Single Helix provided the soundtrack. Debuted at NEXT, part of Art Chicago, myninjaplease.com produced the mag and looks towards a second episode. Interviews include Armando Perez, Allen Vandever, Scott Thomas, Virgil Solis, Seth Kammueller, DJ RTC, Qwel and Maker and Christophe Roberts. Enjoy!

.:myninjaplease.com->