AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2021 - 20

WAYPOINTS
The new normal
Dealing with change to your magazine
BY THOMAS B. HAINES / Editor in Chief
DURING THE PANDEMIC, my stir-crazy wife went on a painting frenzy.
She never reads this column, so I can acknowledge here that she
is not typically a great painter. Project by project, though, she
got better and soon was approaching professional quality finishes
to various walls and rooms around the house. If you need
an accent wall, she can help you out.
Every few years that need for change strikes magazine people,
too. Our art staff is continually assessing their work against
other high-quality magazines on the newsstand. Editors at various
levels bring in their favorite magazine and slap it down and
ask, " Why can't we do this? " as they point to some exceptional
layout or photo or story concept. Meanwhile, design software
continues to progress, and magazine printers introduce new
capabilities. And after a while that fresh new design you introduced
a few years ago looks kind of stale and " so last decade. "
I've seen this movie many times in more than 35 years of
magazine publishing.
In our case, the plans for a magazine redesign actually preceded
the pandemic; the pandemic just delayed it for a bit.
But before you is the culmination of months of design considerations
and work by a group of very talented folks who toil
every month to bring you this publication-and Flight Training
magazine as well.
And while we're proud of the end product, many of you will
not like it all. In fact, some will take the time to write or call and
insist that we turn the clock back to the old design.
I've seen this movie too.
Every redesign causes a not insignificant number of people
to react, usually negatively, to the change. After a few months,
the noise level goes down. And then, years later, when the next
redesign comes along, the same people often complain again
about the new look and insist we go back to the " old design " -
the same one they didn't like
when it first debuted.
Let's face it, we all resist
change to a certain extent
and our first reaction to
it is usually not positive.
But we're excited to share
the stories of the aviation
Editor in Chief TOM HAINES
has been in the publishing
business for nearly 40
years, 36 of them in aviation
publishing. He's lost track
of the number of redesign
projects he's overseen.
20
AOPA PILOT / August 2021
community's most interesting people, innovative technologies,
and helpful techniques in this fresh, clean, new format-all
while showcasing the stunning aviation photography you've
come to expect from AOPA.
As our designers know, I'm a big stickler for readability-
especially as I now am the average age of an AOPA member.
So, to meet my needs, you will note that we did not change the
body font-either the style or size. Too many young designers
love small and delicate fonts that look great in concept and yet
are unreadable by those of us who remember what an NDB is.
If you like the new look, great! We hope you'll let us know. If
you don't like it and can articulate why, let us know. We'd like to
hear your ideas for improvements. If you don't like it and really
can't say why, that's OK. You're not alone. Wait a few months and
this will be the new norm that you will enjoy, especially when
the next redesign comes around. thomas.haines@aopa.org
Thousands of decisions go into every magazine redesign-and, in
fact, into every issue of a magazine. Details matter. Most obvious,
of course, are those involving the cover. We considered a number
of cover treatments. Here are some we didn't choose. Compare
to the cover of this month's issue and let us know what you think.
Email pilot@aopa.org.
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aopa.org/pilot / January 2021 / $8.95
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JANUARY 2021
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aopa.org
JANUARY 2021
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aopa.org
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2021

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