Offscreen: A Magazine Dedicated to the People Behind the Pixels
Technology and the people behind it in a decidedly human context
It’s a universal truth that digital technology and the internet have inhabited major portions of our lives and economic systems. From keeping in touch to paying bills and even improving the world around us, technology is at the core of nearly everything we do. However much we may debate the merits and demerits of its rise, we don’t often pay attention to the creative individuals at the heart of these innovations. So after 10 years of freelance web design work, without even a shade of experience in print, Kai Brach set out to tell the story of the people behind the pixels with Offscreen Magazine.
“I wanted to show a more human side of the tech industry—beyond dramatic TechCrunch headlines and polished Dribbble screenshots there are still real humans making the web spin,” Brach says. By taking a human-centric approach to discussing the web, Brach conveys the pulse of the development and tech communities in a way that few outsiders understand. From this perspective, IPOs and investors take a backseat to the ideological purity of the web’s capabilities as seen by those who build it. Open-sourced software, data protection and using tech tools to make the world a better, more beautiful place is a consistent theme throughout the magazine between interviews, productivity tips and opinion pieces.
One of the magazine’s best features is that it doesn’t focus overwhelmingly on one aspect of technology or one region. “I want the lineup to be fairly mixed in terms of role/job titles, but also in terms of location, background, gender, etc,” Brach says of planning each issue’s content. “Obviously diversity is still a huge issue; I struggle every single time finding more female contributors and folks from the less obvious cities and countries.” After eight issues, Brach has little trouble finding new people to feature, most of whom he meets (where else?) online.
When it’s time to rest your eyes from the screen and pick up a bit of old-fashioned paper (which Brach says, “forces us to slow down, to switch off and read for pleasure”) grab a copy of Offscreen for a fresh, direct perspective on technology. Issues are available online for $22 and from independent stockists worldwide.
Photos by Hans Aschim
