■ About the Publication

Magazine B is an ad-free monthly publication that dedicates each issue to one well-balanced brand unearthed from around the globe. The magazine introduces the brand’s hidden stories, as well as its sensibility and culture, and is an easy but also serious read for anyone with an interest in brands.


■ About the Publisher

JOH & Company is a creative company founded in April 2011 by Suyong Joh, former Director of Creative Marketing & Design at NHN. He oversaw and directed the construction of NHN Green Factory, which is the headquarters of NHN, the company that has earned domestic and international reputation as “Google of Korea.” He also created a sensation in the publishing world when he compiled the construction process in a publication, Green Factory. Currently, he leads JOH & Company, a group of creative directors that he has brought together from various fields, and he is conducting complex projects encompassing architectural design, brand consultation, interior, food & beverage service, and product design, based on his own experience. The first fruit of such endeavor is magazine B.


■ About the Issue

As we release the 60th edition of magazine B, I greet our readers on paper for the first time in a long while. Since the magazine’s launch in 2011, we’ve pushed through a number of unexpected setbacks without fail, and 2017 provided another year of memories that are sure to remain with us for years to come— for me personally and for JOH & Company.

During this time, while overseeing JOH’s involvement in magazine B, space planning and the restaurant industry, I’ve also worked tirelessly on Kakao, one of the most prominent Korean brands of the digital era. To me, the process of building
a business that helps the world through a deep exploration into analog and digital media is a precious opportunity. The release of our 60th issue brings me back to how I felt when I first started JOH, and I’m very excited for magazine B to offer in- depth coverage of Monocle, a publication I’ve read passionately for a long time.

My time in university and graduate school was before the internet connected the entire world. It was then that I encountered Wired and Wallpaper, and these magazines became channels to the outside world. Not only did their material differ from that of other magazines, but as a designer, I was blown away by their astonishing photographs, experimental typography and attention to detail— from bold editorial formats to printing techniques I’d never seen before. I’ll confess one thing: more than the content, I thought that simply having a copy on my desk made me an awesome designer, and simply carrying it around in my bag made me feel like an intellectual hipster.

After stumbling upon Monocle nearly 10 years ago on a trip in Europe, I can say that the publication greatly influenced my ambitions for B. The long and dense articles proved challenging, but browsing photos and articles from around the world on page still warm from the human touch of a cleanly printed publication filled me with an inexplicable joy that is absolutely unattainable when swiping on the palm- sized touchscreen of a smartphone. It was during those pivotal moments when I thought that the desire to own copies of print media and display them on a bookshelf—despite their decreasing popularity— is perhaps an undeniable instinct, as natural as the warmth of our bodies or the lure of the natural world.

Nowadays, when many people talk of the inevitable disappearance of print media or the analog era and tout the need to focus all of our attention on the new digital realm, I continually try to imagine a world in which warm sunlight and trees in gardens are just as valued as the realm of artificial intelligence and robots. Because regardless of which way we turn, I believe that both will co-exist so as to make our lives even more meaningful.

Suyong Joh, Publisher


■ Table of contents

02 Intro

09 Publisher’s Letter

12 Future of Print
Print mass media and the future of the publication industry

14 Opinion
Andrew Tuck, Editor at Monocle

18 On Paper
The business strategy of one multimedia company viewed through Monocle’s lineup of printed materials

30 Midori House
A tour of the Monocle headquarters in London

34 On Air
Monocle 24, media for the ears

38 Global Contributors
The correspondents and contributors who create Monocle’s global perspective

52 Monocle Shop
Monocle’s first off -line retail shop

54 Opinion
Anders Braso, Publisher at Monocle

58 Advertorial Partners
The ideal partnership between media and advertisers,
as seen through Monocle’s advertorials

64 Collaboration
The collaboration between Monocle and small luxury brands

70 Premium Venue
A retail venture that shows off the brand image of Monocle

74 Monocle Cafe
A space where Monocle comes to life

76 Opinion
Steven Watson, Founder and Director of Stack, a magazine subscription service

80 Citizens
Monocle’s readers around the globe

92 Niche Magazines
Magazines from various cities targeting niche markets

98 Brand Story
A glimpse of the printing process for the October 2017 issue in the Cornwall, England print shop

106 Structure
The birth of Monocle and its growth as a media brand

112 Cover Story
The trajectory of Monocle through 10 years of cover design

116 The Scoop
The interviewees from diverse professions featured in Monocle

120 Wallpaper to Monocle
The first chapter of Tyler Brûlé: How Wallpaper begat Monocle

122 Quality of Life Conference
Monocle’s signature off -line event

126 Interview
Tyler Brûlé, Editor-in-Chief and Chairman of Monocle

130 Figures
Monocle and the magazine market in numbers

133 References

135 Outro