Intern Magazine - Interview with Alec Dudson

Intern Alec Dudson

Intern Magazine Interview Questions.

·       When did you first learn you wanted to work in editorial design?

I got into sort of through my mates going off and doing internships and once one of them had been of out to new york for a couple of months and id been sort of sat at home in new york that kind of convinced me to look into doing internships and it wasn’t necessarily the travel aspect of it that sort of got me into it but that was certainly part of it and I applied for most of them in London and it just so happened that the first one that got back to me took me to Milan so not coming from a design background that was almost my baptism of fire and it was a bit odd going to one that was not only a design magazine but architecture and design magazine because both of things I had no formal background in what so ever but the kind of people I was working with out there and the friends that I made out there very good designers and that kind of I suppose that two months I spent with them was always going to be the point in which I decided to pursue magazines and try to get work in it or just think maybe its not for me. As an editor I do work in editorial design but I am not designer its more of an over view. I have the final say but I certainly I like to work with designers because I know I need a designer to do the job so I like to sort of let them do what they do so as much I like to design myself, its been a crash course in design. From having noting to do with it in 2012 to this now two years later I interact with designers on a day-to-day basis. It’s been nice.

·       What is the purpose of intern magazine?

Its got a duel purpose first is to showcase the kind of underclass if you will, of workers. Who are now filling these positions? That have kind of immerged or freshly defined as internships and the second is to encourage a frank and open debate about the effects of internships on the industries. That they’ve found them in more and more industry’s and the amount of work that interns do behind the scenes still seems to be on the increase so to cut It short it’s a magazine for and by internes but the hope is that with in that within that there’s enough variety and perspective, and in story it can be generally appealing to people who are kind of visually stimulated or into creative pursuits.

·        How did you go about bringing the first edition of intern to life?

It started of getting the concept right.  I was always very adamant of that, as you’ve no doubt seen that today. If I was going to make a magazine and stand a chance it had to do something different and it had to be able to go and stand on its own to legs. Obviously things like a use of prerequisite the design had to be up to a certain standard or it wouldn’t be accepted and wouldn’t make it off the shelves. I spent about two weeks toying with ideas and the idea I kept coming back to was about internships once I had decided on the concept I pitched it to Davey who was the creative director of boat magazine where I was interning at the time and also to Chris who was the freelance designer who has gone on to be one of the three lads who’s handled the art direction from the start. So once I had kind of got a reaction off them that supported the idea that there might be something in it, I kind of hunkered down to asking more people running it by the people I had worked with in Milan more opinions I got on it the more takes I got on it. I decided about three to four weeks after it was just before Christmas I come up with it and decided in the new year I was going to move back up to Manchester where I went to university and try to put it together I say us, it was mostly me. Kick starter went live in may in that year so there was a good five months of pulling together contributors story’s and getting it over to the designers to get to the point where we had issue zero. So bear in mind that was only twelve pages and four articles but kind of coming from now where just emailing people going I am starting a magazine do you want to be in it. At the time I couldn’t even guarantee payments, which is one of the key parts of the magazine. So the closer I got to that the more I realized I had to do something about finding some money and it was when I was in Milan with Domas. I was out there for design week. Part of Domas exhibition was a section on kick starter and it was the first I ever heard on kick starter and while most of the stuff out there was product design because it was far more what there into. I was outstanded at the financial sort of bench mark these people had hit they kind of pitched for loads of them which pitched for £2000 pounds they got like £10,000 pounds really interesting machines but what struck me about it was this way you could hold onto complete creative control of what you wanted to do and essentially set up a pre order system. So having done some research and see that there are other magazines of a similar kind of design aesthetic that had successfully been crowd funded or started concentrating efforts into launching that. That was very much a product in itself but one that proved to be worth the time I suppose.

·       How has intern magazine grown since you first started out?

I think the main difference now we’ve just closed the start of the month we’ve just closed the submissions window for the third issue I guess the biggest difference is first issue I pretty much until the kick starter I had just been sat at the laptop searching the internet high and low for the right kind of people at the right point of their career the kind of story’s and its really amazing this time round, we had open submissions for issue two as well but this time round I guess as the magazines got more popular and more people heard about it more people apply to it. The standard of the stuff we get sent in and also the kind of how much more in tune with what were kind of about the story’s we get pitched are real, but its by no means job done hopefully a nice indication that the magazine and its values are reigniting with people that sort of what to be involved in it which are really cool.

·       What is the importance of getting your work noticed?

I suppose if I am going to talk about it from a young persons point of view essentially it’s the way you get jobs isn’t it certainly as a graphic designer they’ll always be self initiated projects and there’s something really nice about self initiated projects that’s what intern is for me. The magazines larger point is to help people get paid for what they do and you know we live in a visually driven game like design. Being a successful designer you could be really talented designer, but there’s also a side to a profession that is getting yourself out there talking to the right sort of people making connections wit­h people I have long hated the idea you’ve got to work a room and give them a card and you’ve got to be everyone’s best mate I have never had that mentality I have always found that very uncomfortable. I would like to talk to somebody because I am interested to talk to them I don’t want to talk to them to butter them up. Getting noticed is an integral part of I guess the craft of design in a larger sense and I guess that its one that isn’t always catered for particularly well for in education. I think that’s where a lot of internships stem from the fact that there’s a little bit of a drop off between graduating and being ready for people to give you paid work and unfortunately the way that often manifests itself is unpaid internships like you’ve got to get experience before you get paid.

·       What is the importance of an internship?

I think in its purest form and this is the thing my personal views on internships aren’t necessarily reflected in the magazine. The magazine has to be completely impartial and show you both sides of the coin lot of people want to boil it down to are they paid or not is that right or wrong. The magazines stance is that there are more facets to it to that. For me in its purest form internships are a great opportunity to work out for yourself whether it’s an industry you want to work in. A great opportunity to work with people who’s work you really admire a lot of the time there can be a real wake up call when you kind of meet the people who make the work that you love and turn out to be not how you expected or they turn out to be awesome and then it all makes sense. Importance of it is the opportunity to really get a feel of the industry that you want to work in and how that industry works. Its rarely rocket science but its getting used to the little work environments they’re very kind of tribal in that the people who are involved in it they want to protect it for themselves and there’s not very much transparency. I hate the saying but get your foot in the door but get in the room with them hear what they’re talking about see what makes them tick see how they go about doing certain things. In reality some of it can be quite depressing but it fills in potentially on a short term it can help you decided whether this is something you want to do for the rest of your life because there’s nothing worse.

·       What city’s have you interned in and which were your favorite?

Milan and London – I guess there different Id never been to Milan before its an interesting city to live in I wouldn’t live in it I don’t think but I met some really amazing people there and London I was there for 7 months I haven’t got the point in my life where all the shit that goes with living in London balances up against reasons for being in London. The frustrating thing is off the back of the magazine I could probably go down there and find magazine related work hell of a lot easier. But I don’t like the lifestyle I am more of a community soul. I like to be able to cycle round to my little brothers and knock on the door and have a five-minute cycle back. So Milan because I m always intrigued about new places and I suppose that was better but there’s a longer list of places that if not interning that kind of relatively unanchored nature of what I do with the magazine I could go on move somewhere tomorrow and carry on making intern and because more of my contributors I have never met they live in New York they live here there and everywhere. Its kind of nice that there’s an opportunity to see the rest of the world and that’s the beautiful thing with design.

·       What is your favorite magazine or publication?

Apartmento – I don’t know what it is about it, having worked with them out at Domas that gave me a real interest in design interior, furniture and architecture. There’s so much you can read into what people do, I think what’s most interesting to me visually is how it doesn’t matter how famous people are nine times out of ten when they get photographed for Apartmento there’s crap everywhere I love that its really kind of welcoming in an odd way in the same way. If it’s your home and you’ve got people round your mortified if it’s dirty. There’s something really nice that it’s really honest. But also I like it because it’s so well done in its commercial side of it. It’s a really successful magazine.

·       Once piece of advice for students or young professionals looking for internships?

Have the confidence to walk away if it turns out its a bit crumby and not what you expected even if its somebody. It’s really hard to do if its your first one or its with some dream agency. But it could be the best agency in the world but if you get there and you’re kind of fobbed off with not being given real work or getting paid. If your two weeks in and you feel like when am I going to learn something or be trusted with something the worst thing you can do is just crack on and waste your time and money. It’s difficult to say sorry its not working for me thanks for the opportunity but its just not for me. It’s hard to do but they will respect you for that. If they’re worth their name they will understand. If the situation isn’t benefiting you or being enriched by it then its pointless being there. The sooner you can make them decisions the better. If this happens at a big agency you go to a smaller one not as renounced you’ll get better projects. Don’t be afraid to speak out and certainty don’t feel like the only thing that matters it the big name on your CV because it doesn’t.