What are we trying to do here? It seems ridiculous to even talk about a print magazine redesign in 2024. What kind of half-mad maniacs would embark on such a strange and labor-intensive endeavor? What would be the point with tens of millions of stories, videos, songs, and various other distractions competing for your attention each day? But that’s precisely why we think it’s so vital to deliver our award-winning journalism, photography, and design not just online, but in a form that encourages everyone to slow down a little, turn some beautifully crafted pages, and just take everything in at your own pace. The magazine got its name from the Muddy Waters song “Rollin’ Stone,” itself inspired by the saying “A rolling stone gathers no moss.
” This is as true now as it was in 1967, when Rolling Stone was founded on the idea that the Beatles should be covered by the press as seriously as Richard Nixon. Both were important forces in the world, with one important distinction — a love of music can set you free. Ever since, music and politics have been intertwined in Rolling Stone’s ’ DNA.
Rolling Stone has always embraced change. To open up the redesign process, Creative Director Joe Hutchinson worked with the design studio Food to reimagine what a print magazine can be each month. With the help of C-LL-CT-V-LY designer Mark Leeds and type designer Christian Schwartz, they crafted exclusive fonts for Rolling Stone and helped the design team reshape everything insid.
