The interaction that happens with design is something that I find really inspiring.

I had to come up with the project and keep pushing myself and I was the only one who would make something happen. For a while after starting work as a designer, on the weekends I would go into a printmaking studio and I was always alone вЂ“ all the impetus for it had to be internal. I also like the storytelling aspect of it and the way things unfold over time, mostly in publications. It was an interesting realisation for me, because I am kind of a messy person and often typography is about paying attention to the minutiae of spacing and sizing, but thereвЂ™s something about setting type that is calming. When you switched from doing fine art at college, what was it about graphic design that captured your imagination? Ten years later, sheвЂ™s replaced her one-time mentor, working closely with editor-in-chief Jake Silverstein to deliver a magazine that defines the weekend reading habits of millions of AmericansвЂ¦

After college she worked as a book designer for several years before moving to New York where she emailed her portfolio to a bunch of prospective employers, including legendary Times Magazine creative director Janet Froelich. She went to college in Michigan to study fine art, before switching to graphic design. Growing up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a small city in the American mid-west, Gail knew really early on that she wanted to do something involving art. As design director of The New York Times Magazine вЂ“ which distributes 2.5 million copies with the Sunday edition of the newspaper вЂ“ Gail Bichler knows a thing or two about those pressures. Less attention is paid to the industryвЂ™s real big hitters and the pressures of producing high quality products for hundreds of thousands of readers. Everyone loves an underdog, which is why the conversation about a new golden age of magazines often centres on small-run indie titles plucky print upstarts with nimble publishing models and niche themes.

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