i-D launches new site with visuals and community at heart

i-D magazine, the fashion and culture glossy bought by Vice Media in December 2012, has launched a new website with a strong visual focus and novel community elements.

The website is the result of nine months of conversations at i-D and with Vice, where the previously separate print and digital teams are now united in the Vice offices.

"We wanted to do something that looked completely different and was very visually led," editor of i-D Holly Shackleton told Journalism.co.uk. "We wanted to do a whole new way of seeing fashion and viewing fashion online.

"Hence the huge, full-bleed [without borders or white space] images, the high definition, the gallery features. We also wanted to do something that was really inclusive and that people could contribute to."

The site is currently divided into three sections – read, watch and look – for articles, video and photography.

In 'look', readers can contribute photos on a designated theme via hashtags on Instagram, and the submitted images will join those of the editorial team on the site.

"Their images can join ours," Shackleton said. "So there's that idea of being inclusive and thinking of fashion as a global community and inviting people to take part."

i-D traditionally publishes six editions a year but the website will offer a rolling editorial model suitable for online, with "the same values but different properties" said Shackleton.

In 'watch', Shackleton hopes to take a new approach to fashion films by working with feature directors in creating a narrative – "an idea, a personality and a story behind that", she said.


Screenshot from i-D.co

"I think video is so exciting and there's so many more opportunities in bringing everything to life, with the sound track and more," she added.

"That's a really exciting push for us and it's only set to grow. We've got five people working in video now which is new for i-D and incredibly exciting."

i-D's new video team will be headed by Danielle Bennison-Brown, previously of NOWNESS.

An audio section featuring playlists and mixtapes from contributors, called 'listen', and a 'discuss' section for readers to join the online conversation is planned for the near future.

Personalisation

'Discuss' will also allow users to create profiles and personalise their experience on the i-D site by highlighting specific topics that interest them the most.

"That's something we're very excited about for phase two," Shackleton said, "as you'll be able to log in and create your own i-D with your own likes and dislikes."

Listen is due to launch before Christmas with Discuss planned for the new year, she said.

The editorial structure at i-D had traditionally kept the print and online entities separate, with Holly Shackleton and Sarah Raphael the respective editors, but the two have united since moving to Vice, with Raphael adopting the deputy editor role.

Although Vice was influential in the digital transformation at i-D, Shackleton said there will be no editorial overlap from the new parent company.

"They've got an incredible digital team and we've worked with them very, very closely to help build [the website] and bring it to life," she said.

"It was their digital know-how and our editorial voice."

i-D was first published as a hand-stapled fanzine in 1980 by Terry Jones, who pioneered the influential 'Straight-Up' photography style, and the publication has become renowned for innovation.

Update

This article was updated to add that the video team will be led by Danielle Bennison-Brown.

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