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Publishing

Publishing

New look, same standards

07 Nov 1997

“Evolution not revolution” was the motto as we set about redesigning Physics World earlier this year. After nine years with the same design we felt that a new look was long overdue – it is hard to think of another science magazine that has not been redesigned at least once during this period. Moreover, the technology used to publish the magazine had moved on considerably since Physics World was launched in 1988. In those days the articles were typeset on photographic paper in a smoke-filled room (though the latter was optional) and arranged on the page with the help of scalpels and glue. Now the magazine production staff use a powerful software package called QuarkXPress – which really is the standard model for desk-top publishing – that runs on computers as powerful as those used by many physicists. However, the old design also had many strengths that we wanted to keep, hence the emphasis on evolution. Hopefully the end result is a magazine that is instantly recognizable as Physics World, but one that is also much improved.

First to go was the old Physics World logotype. The new logotype – a combination of the Franklin Gothic and Franklin Book typefaces in different colours – combines visual impact and simplicity. Leaving out the space between the words might be controversial, although no-one ever complained about the idiosyncratic mix of upper and lower case in the old logo. The contents page has also been completely revamped to give a better impression of what is inside the magazine.

The impact of our new typefaces for headlines and body text should become apparent in the news section. Franklin Gothic is both stronger and more compact than our old headline face, while Baskerville is more elegant and authoritative than Plantin, the old body-text font. A particularly attractive feature of the new combination is that it allows us to publish bigger pictures, yet retain roughly the same number of words per page. Moreover, the type will also be larger than before. Many of the devices introduced in the news section are developed throughout the magazine, and the increased use of colour and better signposting should help guide you through the various sections.

There is also a new section, “Post-deadline”, that has been introduced to report breakthroughs in all areas of physics as quickly as possible. Physics World’s philosophy has always been that physicists or other experts should write the physics content of the magazine (Forum, Physics in Action, Features and Reviews), while journalists would report on science budgets, research councils, funding agencies, international facilities and so forth in the news pages. However, the ever-increasing speed of publication, especially via electronic means, and the growing hype surrounding breakthroughs – where the funding agencies and journals are eager to share the limelight with the authors and their institutions – have made it ever harder for a monthly magazine to report developments in a timely manner. “Post-deadline” – a page of short science articles written by Physics World staff – has been introduced to remedy this.

Another new section is “Institute Matters”. Physics World is published by the Institute of Physics and articles about the activities of the Institute – previously published in various subsections of Physics Community News – will now be consolidated in “Institute Matters”. Physics Community News remains and will have a more international flavour in future.

All this change is not restricted to the printed version of the magazine. We have been busy improving our World Wide Web site in recent months – as visitors to http://www.iop.org/Mags/PW will hopefully have noticed – and this work will gather pace very shortly. One thing that will not change, however, is Physics World’s commitment to live up to its title. We will continue to cover all areas of physics all over the world in a way that is as readable, timely and informed as possible.

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