Spring is the season of renewal. It invites rethinking everything that surrounds you, getting rid of what doesn’t work, and improving the things that do. Or, at the very least, spring invites a good, thorough cleaning.
This season, just as you may be switching to a brighter, lighter wardrobe, we’ve decided to change our look, too. What you hold in your hands is a completely redesigned Westchester Magazine. We wanted the magazine to have a more modern, more dazzling, more “reader-friendly” look. And, at the risk of sounding immodest, I believe that we—that is, our talented art team—succeeded.
Much of the credit for the redesign belongs to Aiko Masazumi, our creative director. “I wanted to make the magazine look sophisticated, be fun, cool, easy to follow, playful—and not one iota stodgy,” says Aiko, who came from Kyoto to the United States 21 years ago “to study graphic design.” Today she lives in Valhalla with her husband, also a graphic designer, and their two young boys. (From the many photos that surround Aiko’s desk, her sons look extremely well-designed.) “My greatest challenge,” Aiko says, “was to look at the design from the readers’ viewpoint—not a designer’s viewpoint. After all, it’s not a piece of artwork I was creating, but a magazine.”
Aiko had some very talented help in this endeavor. Senior Creative Designer Trish Gogarty, Deputy Creative Director Halina Sabath, Art Director Kathee Casey-Pennucci, and Associate Art Director Bridget Herlihy were all on board offering ideas, suggesting adjustments, inspiring forward-looking designs. “The five of us met regularly to look at the designs, then tweak them a little, then look at them again,” Aiko reports. “In total, it took six months before we were all happy with the end product.”
Of course, all our changes are not only cosmetic. What’s the point of looking good if you don’t have the substance to back it up? So, underneath our sleek new veneer, we have new, compelling, and info-packed content too. Our new “914” section includes regular features on such close-to-the-heart Westchester subjects as beauty and fashion (with each issue, we will let you know how to stay gorgeous using our local experts and services, and how to stay fashionable using our local resources), shopping (every month, we will be showcasing items that we found in local shops that we just adore), our notable neighbors (who isn’t interested in people?, real estate, education, and health (look for an entire health and fitness supplement in June).
And, of course, who doesn’t love to eat—and drink? Our new “Amuse Bouche” department now gives you more on the subjects: more tips on what’s in season, more on wine and spirits, and more, much more, insider information on new chefs, new restaurants, new trends, etc. And we know how cultured you are—so we’ve expanded our arts coverage and revamped the monthly calendar of events, making it easier for you to find a great show or a terrific art exhibit.
We hope you love it as much as we do.
Esther Davidowitz
Editor-in-Chief