Idealog – magazine and website
Resource Review
Description
Idealog magazine
Size: 230x280mm, 100+ pages
Frequency: six issues a year
Audited circulation: over 10,000
ISSN: 1177-097X
Publisher: AUT Media, Auckland
Idealog is a New Zealand business magazine dealing with the creative economy with a strong focus on innovation in business, technology, design, science and the arts. Founded in 2005 the magazine was an instant success.
The magazine is also published on the web (idealog.co.nz), where much of the content of the latest issue is available free-of-charge. The contents of all past issues are listed in the 'Magazine' section of the web, an invaluable aid for browsing back issues. All text is searchable. The website also features Idealog TV which has short, YouTube-type clips of interviews and innovations ideal for informing and inspiring both teachers and students.
A new web-based spin-off of the magazine is DesignDaily (designdaily.co.nz ) which publishes 'Daily News for Architects and Designers', and is a great source for ideas and exemplars from industry practice and innovation.
Idealog also hosts a quarterly event series – the AUT Idealog Innovation Series Plus.
Curriculum/Qualifications links
Links can be made to all three strands of Technology in The New Zealand Curriculum (2007), particularly Nature of Technology and most aspects of Knowledge.
Content
Each magazine has articles In the following sections [examples in square brackets are from the 128-page Sep/Oct 2010 Issue 29]:
- Interact – one-page bites of news, interviews, follow-ups of previously featured items, and a business guru answers questions
- Now – people products and ideas
[eg, Water ways – Digital Water's innovations in water ecology; Fighting fit – coloured martial arts wear from two Kiwi entrepreneurs; Paint the town – marketing paint parties through Facebook; Barnesian logic – the genesis of MyTours, an audio tours iPhone app; An angel at our table – a US angel investor reflects on investing downunder]. - Features – more in-depth items on innovation and innovators in business
[eg, The big deal – The Hyperfactory founders talk about entrepreneurship; Green among the vines – Waipara Valley winemakers reclaim native vegetation; Pop of the tops – an Aucklander's t-shirt designs are a runaway hit in the US; Out of our minds – a look at the psychology of branding and marketing]. - Workshop – one-page items on reviews, art, advertising, marketing, urban planning, music and metrics (statistics).
- Gear – Idealog's picks of the latest 'design-led delights'.
The magazine also has a regular Showcase section that focuses on particular areas [eg, Focus on Media].
Issue 29 also featured Going Global: The Idealog Guide to Exporting Your Ideas, a 40-page section on a wide range of things to know when exporting.
Ease of use
Idealog articles are up-to-the-minute, and are typically short and pithy, designed to give a 'quick-fix' on the innovation/person/issue in question. The visual presentation is highly attractive.
Rating
The Idealog media 'family' – magazine, web and TV site – is an excellent resource. Articles are relevant to intelligent, engaged students, particularly at the Year 11-13 level, and all those interested in innovation and creative response to need.
The quality of the writing, focus and presentation is reflected in the fact that Idealog has been voted Business Magazine of the Year in every single year of its publication to date, and has gained a number of other awards in its short life.
Accessibility
The magazine is readily available in magazine stores throughout New Zealand at $9.90, or by subscription at a 20-30% discount. Accessibility is greatly enhanced by the publishing of a web version of the magazine.
Idealog on the web: idealog.co.nz
DesignDaily: designdaily.co.nz
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