■ About the Publication

Magazine B is an ad-free monthly publication that dedicates each issue to one well-balanced brand unearthed from around the globe. The magazine introduces the brand’s hidden stories, as well as its sensibility and culture, and is an easy but also serious read for anyone with an interest in brands.

■ About the Publisher

JOH & Company is a creative company founded in April 2011 by Suyong Joh, former Director of Creative Marketing & Design at NHN. He oversaw and directed the construction of NHN Green Factory, which is the headquarters of NHN, the company that has earned domestic and international reputation as “Google of Korea.” He also created a sensation in the publishing world when he compiled the construction process in a publication, Green Factory. Currently, he leads JOH & Company, a group of creative directors that he has brought together from various fields, and he is conducting complex projects encompassing architectural design, brand consultation, interior, food & beverage service, and product design, based on his own experience. The first fruit of such endeavor is magazine B.

■ About the Issue

This issue introduces Vitra, a furniture manufacturer and distributor that began in 1934 as a small furniture store in Switzerland. There are two things about the brand that drew my attention. The first is that Vitra does not have an in-house team of designers, even though the company considers designers the most important part of the brand. Vitra always collaborates with independent design groups outside the company and respects their opinions. This enables the brand to bring about innovative change in the product life cycle and to be a commendable example of when manufacturing and design go hand in hand. The second feature is their perspective on how people work, which they apply to their office furniture designs. Vitra has expanded the concept of an office from personal working spaces to communal interaction spaces, and has brought new efficiency into offices by transforming systematic working spaces into something homier and more comfortable. Vitra has blurred the boundary between spaces to create “homes where you can work” or “home-like offices” that ultimately suggest the future of residential and office spaces.