Kilimanjaro Magazine

Date
21 October 2009

Kilimanjaro magazine has always stood out on the newsstand for being big, bold and beautiful. Their latest issue is no different, with a format that demands an active user experience; chopping and changing the standard A4 and a couple of staples into something really quite interesting. Editor Olu answered a few of our questions about what the new issue is all about.

Hey Olu, you’ve got a new issue out that looks very interesting, can you tell us a little bit of the history of Kilimanjaro magazine?

Kilimanjaro will celebrate its fifth anniversary with the next issue. We started pretty strong in 2003 selling over 600 copies of the first issue at Magma books alone. We’ve been working hard since then pushing the format further and further. Going through this process keeps me on the lookout for the small things I find beautiful in life, those things that inspire me.

What’s your background? Had you worked at magazines before?

I had a regular full-time job that didn’t really suit my ambitions, I always had a strong interest in cinematography, so I decided to attend an art school and studied on a film program. On and on, I ended up doing more photography than film, as photography was more affordable. After some time I realised my work as a photographer was well appreciated and I truly loved working with that media. I was totally drowned by my activities, devoting all my spare time to this practice and what initially served as a portfolio turned into a magazine. Even after three years of doing that, I still had to occupy a full time job aside from both my work with Kilimanjaro and my work as a Creative Associate at Fallon.

The new issue looks pretty spectacular format wise, why have you chosen to make it so complex?

We’ve always pushed the format pretty far. To me, the new issue isn’t that complex, we’re definitely not on the same planet as most magazines are, but we’ve always been working like that. This complexity isn’t an ambition for us either, our people thrive in creating a different and unique experience for the magazine every time. I want to please them because I see in their eyes the ideas they want to share and the sensations and effects they want to communicate. I feel it is a beautiful thing to bring about a format that reflects our process and ambitions for the magazine.

How do you think the content reflects the way this new issue has been put together?

Well, the theme for this issue focuses just as much on the viewer’s experience of the magazine as our own practice while creating it. I believe every person interprets the selection of visuals within their own cultural restrictions. I Love We is a statement of love for everyone to enjoy their life as a part of their own cultural identifications – bloggers, pirates, artists, Europeans, Americans, fashionistas. The pattern we find on one of those prints was inspired from African ankara – it is part of my own culture. I should also point out that the theme is refering to a book of William Burroughs called Naked Lunch. This book was written in a way that its chapters could be read in no specific order.

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About the Author

Alex Bec

Alex joined as director in 2008 and oversees the commercial side of The HudsonBec Group which includes It's Nice That, Anyways, Lecture in Progress and If You Could Jobs. Contact him to discuss working with us on sponsored content, commercial partnerships, media partnerships and commissioning work.

alex@thehudsonbecgroup.com

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