MacGuffin issue 6
Delivered to Stack subscribers in
Oct 2018
Zooming in on one mundane yet infinitely enigmatic object, each issue of MacGuffin combines scrupulous research with design geekery to present a thick volume of illuminating, satisfying reading. Taking its name from the term coined by Alfred Hitchcock, ‘MacGuffin’ denotes a plot device that sets a chain of events into action.
Name
Kirsten Algera and Ernst van der Hoeven
Job title
Researchers, editors, art directors, writers, publishers, office managers, accountants.
What is MacGuffin?
MacGuffin is a biannual design and crafts magazine featuring fabulous stories about the life of ordinary things. Each edition uncovers the personal and sometimes curious relationships we have with the stuff that surrounds us.
MacGuffin Nº 6 is dedicated to the perfectly shaped object that is the dream of every visionary architect, but a source of great distress to the unsporty among us: the ball. With spinning ballboys, tumbling plants, rolling meatballs, bouncing planets, utopian bubbles, and the inventor of the smiley: Mr. Harvey Ball himself.
What makes it different to the rest?
(From the jury of the Stack Awards) “There’s a risk of sounding like a broken record when hailing the ongoing brilliant work of MacGuffin. The magazine is a delight to hold, to read, and to consider… Impeccable research and deep understanding of their theme permeate every section and story. There’s a familiarity, almost, but at once it’s so innovative.”
Who makes MacGuffin?
Kirsten Algera, Ernst van der Hoeven (editors) and Sandra Kassenaar (graphic designer) with contributions from a range of writers, photographers, users, scientists, designers, historians, architects, artists, philosophers and amateur experts.
Who reads it?
When we started we wanted – quite ambitiously – to make a magazine that is not aimed at certain readers, but defines its own readership. In a way we succeeded in that; we have a very broad readership that is young but hard to define — from design and indie magazine aficionados to research and short story addicts.
Why are you making a magazine?
We thought it would be the best way to create layers of text and images that tell the stories we wanted to tell. Like a portable exhibition that you can keep and carry with you.
Aside from the print magazine, what else are you involved in?
MacGuffin is involved in projects that revolve around the magazine’s themes: from exhibitions to education, from workshops to field trips.
What would you change about MacGuffin if you could?
Nothing!
Where do you see MacGuffin in five years?
We hope MacGuffin will be a verb — “During my holiday I MacGuffinned the perfect MacGuffin…”
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