For a little over a year I’ve seen NowNow evolve from an strange website about obscure young talents in Austrailia into an established voice in the indie publishing world. NowNow was always a little more than just a blog. The content they have tried to provide has always had a tinge of mystery. So it is my pleasure to present Graphic Hug’s first interview with the creators behind NowNow. Mark Patterson, (Pato) and Chris Barton kindly spoke with me via email and explained what drives NowNow and now WON Magazine.

GraphicHug: Please introduce yourself.

NowNow is a project based collective and studio located in Melbourne, Australia, who’s output features publishing, photography, art direction and design. The Collective is comprised of — Chris Barton, Thomas Jeppe, Luke Brown, Mark Paterson, Tristan Ceddia, Spike Frazer

GH: How did NowNow get started and how did you become involved?

NowNow formed in March 2007. We have a notoriously hard time articulating what it is that we do but essentially we’re trying to simplify and find a balance between creative input and output, long and short term, past and present, and digital and print. NowNow as we know it, essentially came together when we decided to do WON Magazine. It was a birth of sorts, after nine months incubating online we finally/suddenly had something to hold. Looking back, it was a very special time and an invaluable shared experience that cemented friendships as much as it cemented visual direction and editorial process. For that first issue in particular, the words “trial” and “error” and “success” and “failure” definitely come to mind but it was incredibly exciting to be learning from each other and finding a unity through our differences.

GH:You guys recently printed your second issue of Won Magazine. Tell us about that translation from web to print. WON’s size and pace is quite captivating. The space allows for such much more time and intimacy. But what I find great about NowNow is that a lot of that air is in the site already.

As touched on above, despite our online origins, WON Magazine has very much shaped what we now present on the website. We still view the website as an incubator for ideas and relationships and there is a large amount of cross-over between contributors to our site and WON. Of course, online is inherently more flexible than print so we try to have some fun with it with various projects like Desktop-Desktop and the studio visits that we do. This also goes back to the point of trying to find a balance between creative input and output.

GH: Can you speak a little bit about the creative and editorial vision of NowNow?

We’re themeless and it’s also fair to say that we assume a lot of our readers. We’re not experts, and in some might consider us to be out of our depth, but we are definitely curious and that curiosity and exploration is what we’re trying to encourage. This is evident in small details that don’t seem like much from the outside but that mean a lot to us. Like the fact that we don’t put links at the ends of articles and we don’t have page numbers or a contents page. And there will certainly never be any “contributor profiles”! Approaching this way makes the magazine experience more poetic and less prescriptive. The contributors voice is also entirely important to us and although we spend what seems to be an infinite amount of time editing, we like to think that we actually change very little. For anyone that’s been misrepresented in the any form of media before, they know it truly sucks, and we want to avoid that at all costs. Our editorial direction is also very much formed from the outside in. Every issue we learn so much from the contributors and it opens up new directions for us and this is a great way to evolve.

GH: You Aussies are becoming quite culturally relevant these days. You’re like… the next big thing next to France. Can you describe the cultural climate in Australia right now? Where do you think all this energy comes from? Has it always been there, and we in the rest of the world are just starting to tune in?

Localism generally is exciting, and being on a far away island definitely encourages that. There is a wonderful phrase used by Flatlands and Flagship founder and artist Timothy Fleming which is “Communal Aesthetic Generosity”, or C.A.G, and this term is a succinct way to sum up and explain Australia’s current creative momentum — not only is there a wealth of talent but people are also more than happy to share it.

GH: You’re from Melbourne. Everyone I’ve met for Melbourne stresses how much of a special place it is. They also strongly stress how different it is from Sydney. There isn’t an expressed hatred, but more of a “those guys just don’t get it” type of view of the city. Can you elaborate on that?

Please don’t mistake this for diplomacy but we feel that there’s no time for snobbery and although Sydney is definitely different it’s also amazing. Its natural beauty is undeniable and we would like to spend more time there if possible. Culturally speaking Black & Blue Gallery, The Spring Press, doingbird magazine are just a few of the brilliant things being made or happening across the border.

GH: Top 3 typefaces that are your arsenal.

Benton Sans ITC Cheltenham Quorum

GH: Top 3 publications that you’re huggin’ these days?

SEDE The Purple Journal The New College Beat

GH: Lastly, what’s got your head bobbing these days?

Hey Convict – Time to Noodle Mix. Moodymann – Black Mahogani. Tv on the Radio – Dear Science. WON Magzine is now in it’s 3rd issue. It can be purchased at NowNow. When Mark is not working with NowNow he’s rocking out some hot graphic jams as Hammer+Tong.