Best looking magazine layout/design

I consider the (recently resurrected-from-almost-death) swedish anarchist magazine brand (est 1886 or whatever) is one of the most cutting edge (and pleasing) graphic designing going on - check out the PDF of the first issue from last year - http://www.tidningenbrand.se/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/brand_1_2010_low.pdf

They are making a conscious effort to promote female activist graphicians as well, and from what I can tell Brand has begun to be viewed as a launching pad for aspiring graphicians rather than a subcultural magazine aimed for the closest mourners.

Must say there is some really good inspiration to be gotten from all the examples posted earlier in the thread as well. Thanks!

My favorite is Strajk ( http://www.masa-hr.org/strajk )from MASA ( anarcho-syndicalist organization from Croatia). The layout is great.

Aesthetics are important when designing a publication, but in the digital age you need to consider your production and distribution channels. Black is nice because it has a simple pdf presenation that anyone with a smartphone, tablet, or pc can read. But die-cutting those corners would require intermediate-level production machinery and would make printing it difficult or costly.

A group of people here in Chicago are working to restart The Alarm (as in A. Parsons' weekly) and one of the keys is allowing for it's reproduction with basic offset machinery through simple file build. This way it's a centrally produced file that is printed in a decentralized fashion, with the ability to "add-on" local sections via a design template (or "style-sheets"). It may also be digitally printed (obviously) for those without access to a press.

One of the bases of most revolutionary movements are a thriving press. Nowadays it has become cheaper and easier than ever to get ideas out there. With digital distribution and a glut of obsolete machinery on the market, one can begin a propaganda operation with $2k and have a fully functional press house for $10k. I am surprised that we haven't seen more radical presses pop up but then again it has taken me personally almost 10 years of study, work in the trade, and investment to finally be able to "go public" with the ability to produce agitprop and commercially viable work. I would like to help reproduce these efforts by developing graphics curricula and engaging in mutual aid with other red printers... like flying to NYC to help OccuCopy repair a press and teach preventative maintanance.

Cheers for that man, interesting stuff. Yeah I think for a lot of people it just seems way too daunting to start from scratch - it's be really god to see a step by step guide one of these days with costings etc included!

Yes please write a step to step guide to setting up an independent press if you have the time. That would be amazing. It's the sort of thing I'd love to organise if I knew how.