In my work, I get a lot of business publications. Some are complimentary; some, I pay for. Recently, I received the latest issue of Package Design, and although the cover didn’t grab me immediately, I sat down with this 32+ magazine and found myself reading every page. That’s pretty rare.

What grabbed me? The editorial content. It’s terrific. The design on the interior is also very cool. I found interesting nuggets displayed well on each spread, no exaggeration. I read about a new book on designing for legibility by author Sofie Beier. It’s called Another, longer piece by Victor Bell covers the different recycling logos and how confusing they are.

The Makeover Challenge, sponsored by Hazen Paper Company, features packaging for Klara’s Gourmet Cookies. The design firm responsible for this makeover is from Portland, Maine: they’re Pulp & Wire (great name or what?). I was doubly excited, as a New Englander, to read that they worked with a printer I know and respect: J.S. McCarthy (www.jsmccarthy.com). Really great story.

Another piece on the redesign of a gum package for Wrigley (the “5-gum Slim Pack”) caught my eye, since I chew that gum. It’s good to be reminded how much work and creativity goes into packaging the items we use every day.

Package Design comes out 10 times a year. It’s published by ST Media Group, out of Cincinnati. I have no connections at all with this publisher. I just wanted to give them a nice shout out. Check it out at www.stmediagroup.com. They do a lot of publications in the graphics industry. This particular magazine is excellent – and its web site is chock full of great content, too.

© 2013 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. You’re free to forward this email. However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author.