Publisher of the Month: Photographize Magazine
Sep 4th, 2018 by IssuuWe’re happy to introduce our September Publisher of the Month, Photographize Magazine. Photographize is an independent publication dedicated to all forms of art and mediums. Capturing the true beauty of art —Photographize welcomes submissions from all levels, both professionals and amateurs. We’ll be bringing you exclusive Photographize content throughout the month, so follow along on social and dig into their latest issue below!
Tell us about Photographize.
Photographize was founded by the Italian artist Andrea Costantini (aka Aidan Sartin Conte). Initially, Andrea saw the Magazine as the perfect medium to create and share something new and different, something that was always inside him – his love for art. Photographize is like a museum, where people can wander and stop in front of a particular artwork for its colors, for a detail, for the beauty of the composition or just because it brings out a strong emotion. This project grew and evolved in 2017 when Carla de la Matta (aka Carla DLM) joined Photographize as Co-owner. Her experience as web designer, engineer and her passion as an artist herself, gave Photographize what it was looking for to continue its story and in February 2018 photographize.co was launched. The website, the social media platforms and the magazine perfectly complement each other. With the creation of the website, Photographize started to show new contents including a blog, interviews, portfolios from selected artists and for the first time it opened the doors to its audience, giving the possibility of submitting artworks to be considered for publication.
How did Photographize get started? What’s the inspiration behind it?
Being an artist gives the opportunity to travel around the world for exhibits and enjoy the beauty of artworks. And this is the original concept with which Photographize was born. Nowadays, people like to share ideas, communicate and look for news and information quickly and everywhere and Photographize aims to make the beauty of art available to everyone. People can enjoy Photographize while going to work or taking a break during their day and they can share their impressions with friends.
Photographize offers pure images, it does not pretend to give any lecture on the reality, it only offers a stimulus for the mind and the knowledge of different artists. Following this idea, the Facebook page opened in January 2010 with less than 100 followers and a month later the first magazine issue was published. At first, the featured artists were close friends. Then, over time, more renowned artists from all over the world started accepting the invitation to appear in Photographize. The project was a complete success and Photographize’s adventure became recognized in the artistic world.
The real ambition was to create a channel containing all types of art, a medium that would allow people to be part of something exclusive. Photographize grew in audience since the very first year to the point of reaching almost 1.7 Million followers on our Facebook page and many more in all our other platforms.
Photographize welcomes submissions from artists, designers, creatives and more — any advice for up-and-comers looking to get their work featured?
We love art, and we look for innovative artists. Innovative art, catchy, fresh, out of the box. We publish artworks that inspire us, touch our sensitivity, give us emotions. Most of the images published in Photographize are surrealist or they undergo digital manipulation process, this is the core and the spirit of Photographize. Our magazine and webpage celebrate art.
Being selected for publications with us means to be part of a selective group of artists. We equally accept professionals and amateurs, so we encourage everyone to submit their work. We see many applications from extremely talented artists. Unfortunately not everyone has the capability of reaching a big audience. The competition is hard and this is where we help them to reach the visibility they deserve. By using our broad social media, website and digital magazine we promote the artists and help their art be appreciated all over the world.
What are some of the challenges you face as a publisher? How do you overcome them?
The main challenge is to find the right content. Something able to catch our attention and inspire us. In every issue of the magazine, in every image or artist we choose, we look for a convincing balance of colors, shapes and visual impact. The perfect mixture of surrealism, a little view on the fairy tales world, including innovative architecture and design, always centered on photography and art. We follow many artists during the year, we travel to see exhibitions, but we also look for personal websites of any kind of artists that can catch our attention. We often discuss what we would like to offer to our followers, what can open their minds and give them new stimulus. Another big challenge is how to work on the layout of the magazine and on our website to complement and improve the visual experience for our public.
How do you think publishing digitally has helped Photographize?
Publishing online is the future! With the advent of Internet, e-books and other digital devices, the way of reading either books or magazines has clearly changed. A pdf is easily downloadable and it can be printed in different ways: from a simple printer, through the upload on a website specialized in mag-books printing, or through any fine printing service. We think it gives everyone the freedom of choosing how to enjoy Photographize. A digital magazine allows us to reach a vast and differentiated audience from all over the world. Moreover, it fits our idea of Photographize: to make the beauty of art available to everyone, to give everyone the opportunity to see the art that we came into contact with and to enjoy it.
What is the best part of running a magazine?
Running Photographize gives us the great opportunity of getting in touch with many great artists and with their amazing work. We can talk to them and have a direct glimpse on their vision. And the unique feeling we have when they embrace our project is a blast of energy that motivates us to look for the perfect way to present their work.
We also love helping emerging artists to develop visibility. It is great opportunity for them and a great satisfaction when their art becomes largely appreciated.
Any advice for publishers working to leverage social media to grow their brand?
Publish quality content every day and always keep in mind what your brand is really focused on. Social media can be dispersive at times and it is important to show the real soul of your business.
Finally, it is important to be present for your audience, because people will rely on how you assist them along the publishing process.
What can we expect next from Photographize?
Photographize will continue to grow. We are expanding our contacts with new companies, artists, galleries, and we are taking the first steps to possibly start a collaboration with museums. We also have some exciting news coming up next year… so follow us!
