Across the ditch, for a little while now BJ Ball has been publishing a magazine about paper and printing called GSM. To the uninitiated, GSM means ‘grams per square metre’ and is a term used in the print world to identify paper thickness (so it’s not just a clever name!). The magazine has been well-received in New Zealand, but the reception hasn’t been quite as warm here. This could partly be attributed to the larger and less connected nature of the design industry here, but also the editorial tone of voice, which tries—but doesn’t fully succeed—in sounding like a bonafide Aussie. Interestingly, this demonstrates that even though Australians and New Zealanders have a lot of things in common, our informal vernacular isn’t one of them.
So it was decided that in order to give GSM a better chance here, it needed its own distinctly Australian counterpart that not only reminded readers of what they could find inside the print publication, but also retained the broader editorial elements and tone of voice that made An Honest Day’s Work so popular to begin with. While it was a shame to say goodbye to a faithful companion, it’s a pleasure to now bring GSMate to designers all over this wide Pantone® 153C land.
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| GSMate is a successful hybrid of the parent magazine, and the best bits of its predecessor An Honest Day’s Work. |
