Cool graphic design from Iceland in the shape of Maena #5

“Abstaining from glue” may sound like a 70s recovery programme, but it’s also a manifesto of the team behind Maena, the graphic design magazine published by Iceland Academy of the Arts. The school’s design and architecture visual communication department publishes Maena annually, with each issue taking a different theme.

This year for Maena #5, it’s tech – hence the glue eschewel – and features articles on subjects “ranging from electronics of the past to dreams of the far future,” according to the team of 17 students that have put together the mag. They add: “Graphic design is dependent on technology and is often about making it more accessible. Our intention was to express this in a clear, creative and innovative manner.

“We wanted the magazine itself to be a comment on the designer’s toolkit, using methods such as laser cutting and folding techniques while abstaining from glue and traditional binding methods.” The publication looks wonderful, with considered use of colour and type (Adobe Caslon and Apercu, if you’re interested) and visually arresting layouts that neatly fit the tech brief. Shame it’s only annual.