Grafik is an independently published magazine for the creative and graphic design industries based in London. It delivers a monthly dose of essential information, independent-minded editorial, the best and newest design work from around the world, unflinching reviews and outspoken opinion from industry personalities. Every issue of Grafik features an in-depth twelve page profile, two up-and-coming new designers and photographers in the Talent section, and a twenty-page special report. This year's special reports have included an A-Z of illustration, Defining Moments in Type, Graphic Design Heroines, Photography, Editorial Design, Art and Music. All this, plus regular features such as Roughs, Showcase, Letterform, Logoform and Viewpoint. This month Grafik Magazine is giving away a copy of their latest 112-page book publication with every copy of the magazine.

Letterform Collected from Grafik Magazine on Vimeo.

Letterform Collected is a typographic compendium featuring Letterform, the much-loved typography feature that has been running in Grafik Magazine since 2005. In this monthly column graphic designers sing praise of one single character from a specific typeface. All of the characters featured were hand-picked by a Who's Who? of the graphic design world. Letterform Collected also features new, exclusive content. Beautifully designed and printed, the book should be a great read for all designers and type lovers. Contributors include David Hillman, Jon Forss (Non-Format), Daniel Eatock, Michael C Place (Build), Angus Hyland, Vince Frost, Freda Sack, Gareth Hague (Alias), and Becky Smith (Lula).

For UK readers the book is free with the new issue of Grafik (issue 178 / Oct 09 which goes on sale today), and comes free with all subscription copies of that issue (wherever you are in the world). After the issue goes off sale at the end of October the book will be sold separately.

Grafik Magazine has recently undergone a complete redesign. The magazine now comes out 12 issues a year and the number of pages per issue has been increased by 35% to 108 pages. While ITC Avant Garde Gothic is still used for the logo, it has thankfully been replaced with Neuzeit S and Lettera for body copy and headlines. It is an improvement, though still not ideal. Before the redesign the magazine was – technically speaking – a nightmare to read. I once wrote a feature on Sybille Hagman's lovely Odile three summers ago, and when I tried to read the printed piece I gave up one third in. So if I can give you but one piece of typographic advice – never use ITC Avant Garde Gothic for text. No, I don't want to hear any lame excuses or feeble attempts at justifying its use. Just don't. To quote the legendary Ed Benguiat:

The only place Avant Garde looks good is in the words "Avant Garde". Everybody ruins it.