Magazine Cover Staff Blog

Getting to know the Judges..

Today we had a quick chat with Gideon Keith – one of the NZ 2012 Maggies judges who helped shortlist the entries to our lucky 25 finalists!

Gideon loves the magazine world and is a Creative Partner at Strategy Design and Advertising in Auckland. His career spans 25 years across New Zealand, Australia, Asia Pacific and the USA, during which he has worked on global brands including Apple, Nescafe, Heineken, Landrover and Johnny Walker. Gideon has worked on over 450 books and publications beginning with a 2 year stint designing Ita Magazine in 1989-90.

What section in your favourite magazine do you flip to read first?

I like the ‘bite sized’ stories at the front to whet my appetite, or the humour section at the back. I find magazines are a bit like a bento box in that you can sample different parts before settling into the main meal.

What magazine would you bring back from the dead?

It would have to be ‘The Face’ magazine. I have an almost complete collection from issue 12 on. The combination of music, fashion, art, design, technology and pop culture made it a cover to cover read for me. It heralded the new wave of Cool Britannia and made the reputations of some creative luminaries like Neville Brody and Juergen Teller.

If money was no object what would be your ultimate cover star, animal or object?

Stewy from Family Guy.