Paying Attention: Tyler Brûlé is one of the best minds in publishing, which is an inherently interesting industry that needs all the fresh minds it can gather in these days of digital downloads and low reading comprehension aspirations.
Brûlé’s work first came to notice with the rather spectacular big-format glossy Wallpaper, which debuted in 1996 .While he Published and Edited Wallpaper (the magazine was ultimately sold to Time Warner in 1997 but Brûlé stayed on as editorial director until 2002), it was one of the very best publications of any kind in the world, most notable for it’s extremely sharp headlines, wide-bandwidth editorial, and innovative design. After Brûlé left Wallpaper, the publication–while still formidable–was never quite the same as when his spirit and attitude infused the editorial, missing some editorial liveliness and range.
The evolution of Wallpaper itself is worthy of deeper coverage but that shall have to wait for another time. Today the focus is on what Brûlé is currently doing and that is Monocle, a thick bi-monthly publication that takes a global view of modern life. A rather brilliant essay on Monocle popped up in the National Review Online. Kevin D. Williamson does an excellent view of de-constructing the Monocle business model and editorial approach. Like the magazine itself, it’s very much worth your time.
Brûlé