Rolling Pebble.

by Jeff Pappalardo

I miss my big Rolling Stone magazine. They recently changed to a more standard 8 x 11ish size, and the design seems to have lost a little mojo. Not that the design is bad, to the contrary, but I miss opening to the center spread and going "wow". There's something about a large format that frees you to do bold, experimental design, especially with typography. I've been a subscriber since my sophomore year at Syracuse, when I was majoring in editorial design. Back then (1980), Rolling Stone was the place to go for design inspiration. And since then, especially through the Fred Woodward/Mark Seliger years, they've always produced stunning, impactful layouts. Until now.