Quick flick – Snap!
I’ve been off for a couple of weeks, but I’m back in the office now and starting to work through the pile of magazines that have accumulated on my desk. There’s loads of good stuff that I’ll try to get through over the next couple of weeks (thanks to everyone who has sent magazines in) but the one that really jumped out at me is Snap!
You can probably guess why it caught my eye, but there’s more to Snap! than double Ds. Sort of. There are dirty dishes, David Duchovny, diamond dogs, dunking donuts… the list goes on. Every feature in the magazine has a double D title. That’s the only thing that connects the subject matter, giving the magazine a feeling of wanton exploration.
They’re not a craft magazine, but they’ll show you how to dip dye.
They’re not a skate magazine, but they’ll run a (wesc-sponsored) fashion shoot based on skating’s dog days.
They’re not a literary magazine, but they’ll engage with big ideas from serious writers (economist Darrell Duffie on the global financial crisis, and academic Denis Dutton on the philosophical nature of beauty).
It could so easily feel tenuous and forced, but instead the overwhelming feeling is one of freedom. It’s because they’re so assured – every page of the magazine looks lovely, the thick matt paper full of colour and life.
It’s because of the care and attention to detail that means even the fashion contacts page gets its own double D name (details details).
It’s because of the inventiveness – I love ideas like this one, with a model photographed in the same simple pose, but dressed as Doris Day, Dorothy Danrigue and Daisy Duke.
But most of all it’s because of the sense of fun. Founded in 2008 by a pair of Australians living in Montreal, the magazine began as a showcase for local talent and has grown to cover stories from across all of Canada. In their introduction they explain that the mission of Snap! is “to offer something that is original, high in quality and playful in nature”, and that’s exactly what they’ve done.
I’ve got no idea whether the idea for alliterative headlines occurs in every issue, but I definitely want to find out more. Snap! doesn’t feel quite like any other magazine I’ve ever seen, and as soon as I finish posting this blog I’ll be dropping them an email to see if we can work out a way of getting them onto Stack.
Done deal.
