It’s Nice That founder Will Hudson on second issue syndrome
Will Hudson started It’s Nice That as a blog while still at university in Brighton. Today INT is the most exciting platform celebrating creativity in the world, and reaches over a million people per month. Will is also the innovation director of the HudsonBec Group, which he founded with Alex Bec. As well as INT, companies within the group currently include the agency Anyways, recruitment platform If You Could Jobs, and Lecture in Progress, a resource offering insight on working in the creative industry.
Will is judging our most prestigious award: Magazine of the Year. Ahead of entries closing on 27 September, he told us what he’s looking for in a winner.
Magazine of the Year is our biggest prize, meant for the most interesting and exciting independent publishing — what will you be looking for in the winner?
I would expect the winner of Magazine of the Year to be faultless. From format, to stock, to layout, to art direction, to content, to cover, to… you get the idea. One big giveaway as to which magazine will win is that it’s usually the one we all fight over as judges, about who gets to take the copy home with them. I can’t wait to find out what magazine tops the pile this year.
We love the advice section of Lecture In Progress, particularly the advice to creatives about how to deal with rejection. If you had one piece of advice to pass on to magazine makers, what would it be?
I think everyone’s got a magazine in them and I’d encourage anyone who really wants to do it to take the plunge. The magazines we’ve made over the years at INT are some of my fondest memories, from the interviews and the conversations around curation, to the design and commissioning, right through to the sales and stockists. My advice to anyone wanting to really start a magazine is to think about what your second or third issue might be like. Everyone’s got one issue in them but far fewer have a second or third.
Is there a magazine in your life, past or present, that you particularly love, or which has had an influence on you?
I interned at Wallpaper* magazine during my second year summer holiday while studying graphic design at Brighton. It wasn’t anything specific about the magazine, but the influence that month had on me was huge. Seeing behind the doors of how that thing comes together every month: from the commissioning and conversations about a photographer’s contact sheet; to seeing the flat plan and issue come together in an A4 ring binder; to how retouchers work their magic; to deciding what should be on the cover. Every day something else I’d previously taken for granted was played out in front of me and I’m grateful to the design team at the time for letting me in to see their world.
