A NOTE FROM THE CREATIVE DIRECTORS
Hello.
Right now, you’re reading the second edition of ellipse magazine.
Many things are the same. We’re still a bunch of photographers and designers on the precipice of our professional lives. We’re still student-run (and faculty guided). And we’re still brimming with the same hopes and fears, dreams and anxieties.
Many things are different. The tools of storytelling have changed and continue to do so. The very definition of the magazine is in question, as print and digital synthesize into something new. And now more than ever, our future has an asterisk.
Climate change, fascism, war and ecological collapse loom like storm clouds. We’re all struggling to stay afloat, and we’re the lucky ones. These problems won't go away by ignoring them. We must be stewards of this uncertain future in every way we can.
As photographers and designers, we’re in the business of making things look better than they really are. In this issue, we’re trying something different. We have to be in the business of telling truths, of elevating voices, and celebrating the inherent dignity of the human spirit.
This mission became the guiding philosophy of ellipse, from our initial visual direction to the artifact you’re holding right now.
So why magazines? In a world of screens, why have we retreated to ink, paste and substrate? Why have we dedicated so much time, effort and money into something that most believe to be obsolete?
Well, we love the magazine because we love ideas. Ideas can turn into words, into photography or into drawings. Ideas can change hearts, minds and the world around us. Print is a way for these ideas to be crystallized at one point in time — and told in a way that’s both familiar and revolutionary. It’s not enough to have a big headline, some pretty photography and a thousand words about whatever’s trendy at the moment. Not when we have so many things to say to so many people.
The measure of ellipse’s success won’t be about how much money it makes or the awards it wins — frankly, we couldn’t care less. What we want is for this magazine to broaden your perspective, make you think more critically about the world around you and convince you to take an active role in shaping our future. Because ellipse might be a magazine about the future, but it’s also a magazine about our future — one that’s being built by words, by choices, and by ideas.
We’ll stop rambling ‒ we think the magazine can speak for itself.
Thank you,
Kevin + Meghan
Right now, you’re reading the second edition of ellipse magazine.
Many things are the same. We’re still a bunch of photographers and designers on the precipice of our professional lives. We’re still student-run (and faculty guided). And we’re still brimming with the same hopes and fears, dreams and anxieties.
Many things are different. The tools of storytelling have changed and continue to do so. The very definition of the magazine is in question, as print and digital synthesize into something new. And now more than ever, our future has an asterisk.
Climate change, fascism, war and ecological collapse loom like storm clouds. We’re all struggling to stay afloat, and we’re the lucky ones. These problems won't go away by ignoring them. We must be stewards of this uncertain future in every way we can.
As photographers and designers, we’re in the business of making things look better than they really are. In this issue, we’re trying something different. We have to be in the business of telling truths, of elevating voices, and celebrating the inherent dignity of the human spirit.
This mission became the guiding philosophy of ellipse, from our initial visual direction to the artifact you’re holding right now.
So why magazines? In a world of screens, why have we retreated to ink, paste and substrate? Why have we dedicated so much time, effort and money into something that most believe to be obsolete?
Well, we love the magazine because we love ideas. Ideas can turn into words, into photography or into drawings. Ideas can change hearts, minds and the world around us. Print is a way for these ideas to be crystallized at one point in time — and told in a way that’s both familiar and revolutionary. It’s not enough to have a big headline, some pretty photography and a thousand words about whatever’s trendy at the moment. Not when we have so many things to say to so many people.
The measure of ellipse’s success won’t be about how much money it makes or the awards it wins — frankly, we couldn’t care less. What we want is for this magazine to broaden your perspective, make you think more critically about the world around you and convince you to take an active role in shaping our future. Because ellipse might be a magazine about the future, but it’s also a magazine about our future — one that’s being built by words, by choices, and by ideas.
We’ll stop rambling ‒ we think the magazine can speak for itself.
Thank you,
Kevin + Meghan