ID Magazine Closes--A Huge Loss for Innovation and Design

The US is a cultural pig sty. Look at how mych we had right in the 50's within mid century architecture etc. Where did it all go wrong here?

I hope here in America we don't take for granted that innovation always takes place here. We got to where we are today due to the hard work done by previous generations.

Hopefully they can figure a way to stick it out in a digital format

This is truly tragic, as ID Magazine has been a cornerstone and point of reference for designers for many decades. I had very little idea about industrial design until I opened my first issue of ID Magazine (circa 1991) which then inspired me to go on and study Product Design.

Is the closure of ID Magazine just indicative of all content moving online and the death of yet another magazine OR is ID just a victim of the changing and evolving state of design we are in?

I loved the magazine maybe its poor management on their side, they could've boosted the number of subscribers and advertising profits by cheaper subscriptions... it was too expensive

When companies fail, it's often because they failed to continually make themselves relevant to enough of the population to stay profitable. Rather than blame Americans for not appreciating design, why not blame ID for not making itself relevant? If Americans don't care, help them care! Throwing up one's arms and saying 'well, there's nothing we can do - the consumers are the problem.' is very non-design thinking.

A couple of things come to mind about U.S. execs. First, they may still be thinking about design as the creation of artifacts and artsy-fartsy and not realizing how powerful design thinking can be. Second, people may be waiting for a bolt of lightning to "invent" something and not realize a process is needed to create more predictable new things get created. Third, U.S. managers are very focused on finance and the MBA view of the world and are too far away from actual customers (i.e. PEOPLE).

We have had decades of business success in the U.S. and many execs haven't had to manage through hard times. The execs that came out of WWII and the depression knew tough times. Baby-boomers haven't had that. Hubris is the biggest killer of innovation.

Some good points are made here but when it comes down to the bottom line, I.D. Magazine is a business and business doesn't survive without figuring how to generate revenue. All the awards in the world won't change that.

I think you can look to the design schools for the decline of design in the U.S. There are few senior faculty left who understand design thinking such as I learned at Pratt in the old days. Rather there are young untested people who see everything as a choice from a menu. Instead of creating they are picking. Why do all cars nowadays look alike as if they were designed via an MBA program?

All great points! It good to see that ID is withering away like IDSA and the role of design in the USA. Besides being another design magazine for designers who needs it! Does anyone in the top 3 positions at any major American company even read it let alone know it even exists? Its been coming now for a while and the lack of design/R&D investment in most US companies is finally revealing itself. I'm a retired designer and after 20 years of seeing the profession become religated to low development budgets, buyers as designer, or the "pick it out from a menu of asian parts" style of design this has become what middle managers think is a good design mentality. I hope creativity is not dead in the USA but know this... corporate America will not and does not pay for or support good design especially in middle sized American companies. They pass off innovation to little design firms who fumble at attempts to make 5-10K budgets work, trade royalty based budgets for back end payment,and these companies take little to no stake in developing quality products for consuners to consume. Does the world really need an Ipod Toilet Paper Dispenser??? Well does it?
I yearn for any company to recant this and step up with a real budget to develop socially and econimically viable soul-utions to everyday needs. Man-up corporate America and put leaders in charge not MBA's with limited insight into marginal growth. What business can truly survve on 5-15% margins? We need innovation and internally supported design leadership from the top down. Designers have always championed their roles from the bottom up; it is now time for upper management to meet us half way...if not you should divest them from your portfolios and send the message that most rings their bell...Money, share price devaluation, loss of market share, and stop supporting crap products! Do not buy what you do not use! It is a cycle of repetitive consumption that helps no one! If you want to put your money to good work and support a great product send your Ipod Toilet Paper Dispenser money to Need Magazine! They are in need of finacial support for their humanitarian efforts!
Merry Christmas!

I wonder if ID took a design thinking approach to trying to keep their business going, or just went "gently into that good night?"

Respectfully, I submit that trite remarks about the US being a cultural 'pig sty' and blaming MBAs for some disconnected bundle of poor management practices hints at an issue shared ID magazine (today) and industrial design (more so in the past): Being relevant is a requisite to longevity. In this I agree with Mark.

Of what relevance is ID magazine in a world where more timely and detailed content is available instantly and for free? Of what relevance is a profession that claims to have solutions for all of business' problems without speaking the language of business?

Yes, ID has written about the evolution of design for decades, but 'design' proper is too big for a pub to cover meaningfully unless it focuses on some specific aspect of design. Instead, ID seemed disjointed and lacking in focus. Even pubs such as designperspectives that are entirely practitioner-focused have thrown in the print towel in favor of online delivery.

If you don't have an appreciation for what ID magazine used to be you'd have no reason to consider paying $10 to buy one unless you're trying to impress non-designers with something of just the right thickness to wedge between those copies of Clear and Giant Robot on your reception table.

Does ID's exit hurl us into a design dark age? To believe so would suppose that it served as a beacon drawing business decision makers into the religion. Hardly. It's my observation that the US has a greater appreciation for design and designers than any time in the last 25 years.

Open a copy of Business Week, Fast Company, Strategy+Business or HBR from the last few years or search Amazon for books on 'design thinking'. You'll find dozens written within the last 2 years that speak to a notion that the design process and those trained in it have much to teach the business world. Who's behind these books? MBAs from Bain and HBR Press.

-Scott

P.S.: I lamented the loss as well for sentimental reasons. I have boxes with all the issues 1993 - 1999.

Like Andrea, ID was my initiation to industrial design over 20 years ago. I happened to see one in the library stacks while on the way to career services after having been laid off from my job as an illustrator. Amazingly I'd made it through 4 years of high school art, an undergrad in technical illustration, and 2 years practicing without ever having heard the term 'industrial design'.

In all honesty the role of design in innovation should not be underestimated. For once good design goes where others didn't think of going before and also dares to go where others didn't dare going before. This inevitably needs time and investment since it's always a small group that starts out with creating change. I agree that you have to look after your economic relevance. Needless to say though that if shareholdervalue is what determines economic relevance however, we only get so far. It goes at cost of things that are worth investing in over time but are not continuous boxoffice successtories. A lot of great design operates outside the limelight and makes life work very well every day. If you solve problems you better do it well. That's what good design does, it's a specialism however for crying out loud. Not everybody is a designer like IKEA claimed to boost their sales.

I've always looked forward to the next issue. When on the road, the local university library or Borders was the venue for an immediate acquisition.

I feel, however, that a broader cultural appeal might have been achieved, without violating its purpose as a definitive professional design journal.

Playing the role with both the mindset of "general consumer", and more realistically, of an esoteric, conceptual "hyper-aesthete", the latter image was more highly catered.

As a current day "Greco-phile", I refer to Plato's urging of "moderation in all things". He stressed the music is a soothing blessing, yet too much music makes the mind "dance".Perhaps ID should have walked the finer line between glitz and profession purpose.

We have lost our edge to the western Pacific Rim, and its our own corporate fault. So the demise of ID Magazine should have been a foregone conclusion.

Like Singapore, we now need a desperate "Johnny Come Lately" edict, and ardent support at the Presidential level, as a strong or leading partner, in the current rhetoric of "innovation", as a tool to economic recovery.

This demise has not come about in one fell swoop. The issue is multi-layered-
Yes, America is really isolated in their cultural awareness of design. But this is not due to ignorance, but a historical love affair with Engineering and inventor-ship. Even to this day in American Industrial Design, the Designers are hands off in Engineering (somewhat). In Europe the Designers are assimilated into the Engineering phase. This creates a strong point- THE idea or concept does not get diluted during the process. One might make an argument that Apple in an American company and their Industrial Design is revered across the globe. But look closely- the ID team is composed of mainly Europeans- utilizing a hybrid Design language of German and Japanese cultural ethos. How does this relate to the magazine? It shows that they were not quick enough to survive the digital transition, and to support it's hard copy output. General Motors, anyone?

I am saddened like everyone else, because it leaves American Design journalism to the likes of Metropolis and AD. Maybe magazines like Icon, and DAMn from Europe will fill the void. Or maybe something will rise from the ashes...

Wallpaper, Dwell, Wired, Metropolis, etc. Not a pigsty - just very choosy - and not willing to spend too much in a recession when a lot of stuff is out online...