Earlier this month, FOLIO Magazine announced the winners of its annual digital awards, which aims to recognize the online work of publishers throughout the country. D Magazine is one of those—we won an award for the best Integration with Print for our “Taste Japan in Dallas” feature. Other winners include National Geographic, ESPN: The Magazine, AdWeek, The Players’ Tribune, and 5280. We’re in good company.
This is a big deal for us, not in the least because of the amount of work that went into this package. Regular readers of this magazine should take notice of the deeply reported service features that are being produced by Eve Hill-Agnus, our dining critic. They’re so far beyond the standard magazine best list that it’s hard to even group them together. Those lists have their place, but Eve’s features accomplish something rare—they help illuminate cultures through their food, and help the reader find where they can experience it right here in Dallas. So far, she’s done Indian, Japanese, and Korean. There will be more to come.
Kevin Goodbar, D’s art director, helped bring the packages to life in print. They’re beautiful products, and his design incorporates brilliant photography and a readability that makes it easy to follow despite the length and depth of information.
So, here comes the tough part—how the hell do you present this online? Ricky Ferrer, our former digital director who recently decamped for Foreign Affairs magazine, worked alongside Christina Rees, our lead developer, to build a new template just for these service pieces. We’ve been able to use it for other purposes too, like for our analysis of the bond package, our “Most Stylish” feature, and our coffee guide. The template is simple and allows for full-width photography, jump links, and custom headers. It helps us match the beautiful presentation in print for the web. That’s not an easy thing to do, which is why it’s a big deal to be recognized.
Jessica Chen, our digital art director, took additional photos, hand-drew calligraphy for the sections, and made sure everything was laid out perfectly. Eve and I worked together to plan web-only copy. She wrote another section on Omakase and fleshed out some of the print write-ups for us.
One of the challenges for any publishing company is figuring out ways to meld print and online. Thanks to FOLIO for recognizing the work that’s gone into doing just that here at D Magazine.
