Vanguards is a new publication founded by James Roberts and Hugo Ross whilst completing their degrees at Edinburgh College of Art. This quarterly magazine celebrates Scottish brands and products that the pair admire. Check it out below:

Appreciative of magazines such as The Gentlewoman, The Happy Reader and The California Sunday Magazine, James and Hugo wanted Vanguards to “fight the trendy mag” with its content being the dominant power. It provides featured brands with in-depth pieces on their processes and quality Scottish products alongside a developing critical voice against unsustainable and unethical manufacturing. This first issue of Vanguards is a very exciting move in publishing that invests within a community through intelligent content and design.

We’ve come across many creative publications over the years (our personal favourite was Zembla, a literary and arts magazine which ran from 2003 to 2005). What’s nice about this one is that there is no reliance on the visual clutter you see in most magazines and the content is allowed to breath. It’s also unafraid to variate the layout which is refreshing to see. The fact it was born out of the celebration of Scotland’s rich and diverse design and manufacturing tradition is even more important in a time when Brexit is still a sore subject within the design community on both sides of the border.

The pair plan to create three more issues based in Scotland with their “bank of stories that couldn’t fit in this issue” which aim to be less celebratory and more a critical piece on the state of Scottish design and manufacturing. We look forward to seeing how this publication will evolve. You can see more on the Vanguard website and on their Instagram account.