Episode 357 – Walter Bernard

Virtual Memories Show 357:
Walter Bernard

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“The first thing you try when you’re called in, is to find out how the top people see the problem. That’s often similar from project to project: the disconnect from the readership.”

Legendary designer Walter Bernard joins the show to talk about Mag Men: Fifty Years of Making Magazines (Columbia University Press), the new book he co-authored with Milton Glaser. We get into the art and necessity of collaboration, the relationship he and Milton developed over half a century of work, the pros and cons of doing redesigns for globally established institutions, and the decline of print in the digital age. We get into his stellar run of redesigns for Time, Fortune, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic, the one magazine Walter would have loved to redesign, his design pet peeves, how he learned to learn the culture of newsrooms, how he came into his own and could feel like a true partner to Milton, and plenty more! Give it a listen! And go buy Mag Men: Fifty Years of Making Magazines!

“Magazines are not done by one person. They get better with all these ideas and collaborations.”

“Sometimes type designs are marvelously successful and innovative, and other times you’re thinking, ‘Why are you showing off like this to a reader?'”

Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes!

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About our Guest

Walter Bernard has been the designer and art director of many of the best-known magazines and newspapers in the United States, including Time, Fortune, and The Atlantic. He coproduced the documentary Portraits of a Lady (2008). In 2013, he received the Henry R. Luce Lifetime Achievement award for his work at Time Inc. His new book is Mag Men: Fifty Years of Making Magazines, co-authored by Milton Glaser.

There’s a much more extensive bio at his consultancy’s website.

Credits: This episode’s music is Fella by Hal Mayforth, used with permission from the artist. The conversation was recorded at Walter’s studio on a pair of Blue enCORE 200 Microphones feeding into a Zoom H5 digital recorder. I recorded the intro and outro on a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone feeding into a Cloudlifter CL-1 and a Mackie Onyx Blackjack 2×2 USB Recording Interface. All processing and editing done in Adobe Audition CC. Photos of Walter by me. It’s on my instagram.