Société Publishing’s latest limited edition is an eclectic collection of encounters, stories and people from around the world. The Consider Journal is designed to be a place of refuge from your busy schedule. Art director Julianne Liebeck explains the thinking behind the concept.

What is the inspiration for The Consider Journal? The Consider Journal is really a collation of people, places and things that have inspired us. We’ve been lucky to come across these people along our travels or have been introduced to them, and so we just wanted to bring them together – with the intention being self-reflection and exploration.

How does it differ from other magazines? It’s a tricky thing to put The Consider Journal into a particular box (which is how we like it). We’ve called it a journal, and terms like ‘book-a-zine’ have been thrown about as well! It’s completely free of advertisers, and unlike a lot of magazines the stories inside are not time-sensitive. We want someone to be able to pick this up in 10 years and for it to be as relevant as it is today.

You say the journal is more a series of questions than answers – how do you hope readers will use it? We don’t want to be too prescriptive. At the end of the day we hope the readers simply enjoy it! One tip though is to take your time rather than going cover to cover.

What are some of your favourite contributions? The contributors are like children – you’re not supposed to have a favourite! But I do particularly enjoy our poetry piece. And also our article entitled ‘Who Is Afraid of Change’, by Angelos Varvarousis, questioning a number of the assumptions about our economies and lifestyles.

How difficult was it to keep the publication free of plastic? It was a little tricky. It limited the options with our finishes, but it did push us to be more creative, for example in using the hand-bound Japanese binding, and in being one of the first to trial printing the cover with a water-based soft touch aqueous.

What in your own journey has led you to publishing the journal? I’ve got a rather busy mind and I was looking for a quiet place – and sometimes a whole book isn’t manageable when you can only pick it up for short times. And so we created this collection of stories as a place of refuge from our busy schedules, to delve into a world of creativity and considered thought.

Any tips for others looking to be more conscious and considered? Slow down – which I admit is something I’m still trying to practise! And making a deliberate effort to seek out other opinions or thoughts rather than the first one you come across.

Is there a particular book or author that has inspired you in your life or career? Yes, The Outsider, by Albert Camus.

The person I would most like to interview is… ? I would love to have interviewed Melina Mercouri (but she passed away in 1994). Joni Mitchell would be right up there.

What do we need more of in 2020? I’d say in a lot of cases we need less rather than more. ‘Going slow to go fast’ really can work.

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