Hugh Pearman, editor of the RIBA Journal, explained the work carried out prior to the recent relaunch. Most readers want a hard copy, he said, especially in an institution magazine since it is the hard proof that they are getting something for their membership fee. But in general, they like hard copy.
And while some said that there were too many words, there was also a hunger for long-form writing, particularly among younger architects. Pearman speculated that this was because they had less work and more time for reading.
Catherine Slessor, editor of The Architectural Review, which had its own major rethink a couple of years ago, stressed the importance of curation in the days when every image is instantly available on the internet. News sites such as Dezeen and World Architecture News are great ways of seeing what is going on, but then readers appreciate thoughtful writing and a magazine which chooses which elements to discuss - as well as a lovely object that they can keep.
Michael Hammond, founder of World Architecture News, stressed that he believed his service complemented and would not replace the printed titles.
BDP's research showed that while users used print magazines and online services equally, if they had to choose the most important, they mostly plumped for print. While the majority used LinkedIn professionally, only a third used Twitter, and Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram did not score significantly. The majority said that they would give between five and 15 minutes to something that really interested them.
As if on cue, at the end of the evening a young architect who had been working late at BDP joined us. She was offered a spare copy of RIBA Journal. 'Yes please,' she said eagerly, obviously off for some long-form reading.
3 comments:
Hi Ruth,
Hugh Pearman said that young architects had less work and therefore more time for reading? I find it hard to believe that would be true, or maybe he's six months behind the skill shortage ;-)
The problem with image dominated websites is that they have no technical depth. There is a common perception that architects are only interested in the aesthetics, but lets face it, they won't be able to replicate a detail if they can't work out how it works.
So I'd put in a plea not only for more words, but also for more information...
Hi Sue,
One architect commented interestingly at the event, that the first thing that architects want is to see images, and the next is to know what they are about. So straight after the images comes the need for words.
But I agree those words are probably not in technical depth. I don't think that is a problem since research shows that image-dominated websites are not the only source of information that architects have. There is nothing wrong with eating cake, as long as you eat other things too (well, OK, the image-dominated sites are probably better for you than cake, but you know what I mean).
Absolutely, all things in moderation... and lets go steady on the cake!
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