Ten 24 Media

I hold the latest issue of 3×3: The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration before me. With over a year on the shelves, a review seems in order.

3×3 speicalizes in the clever, graphically bold, ‘charming’ style thats so hip these days, think “Optic Nerve” or “The Believer”. While it’s handsomely bound and bursting with pretty pictures, the editorial content is a bubbly hot-tub of congratulations. All the interviews are fawning, the advice section is small and shallow, and the editor’s letters have the tone of a PBS fund drive.

Still, it’s the only place you can see top illustations outside an expensive directory. And if you’re like me, the client list next to each illustrators profile is a god-send (Find someone working in a smiliar style and then target his clients). Plus, 3×3 has just put out its own juried directory and student contest, which is very much needed. If its successful, we may see more interest in illustration, which would lead to more jobs for everyone. Fingers are quite crossed.