Weapons of Reason – Issue 1

Weapons of Reason Issue 2 is available now on loremnotipsum.com. Weapons of Reason is our own four-year publishing project: a magazine to explore the biggest challenges shaping our world. Issue one? The Arctic…

Weapons of Reason (WoR) aims to take the most complex challenges facing the world and communicate them simply and powerfully to the widest audience possible. It goal isn’t to provide answers, but instead ask the right questions and inspire people to join the dots for themselves. Most importantly, WoR’s goal is to turn knowledge into action.

“Weapons of Reason uses the power of data, images and words to reveal the rich insights that are required ingredients for addressing our most important global issues.”
Tim Brown, CEO IDEO

The magazine is printed (roughly) biannually, with a total of eight issues being produced over the period of the project.

Weapons of Reason is a four-year, bi-annual magazine project by Creative agency “Human After All” based in London (UK). The 116-page magazine is using longform storytelling, illustration and striking data visualisations. Leading illustrators, including Jean Jullien and Adrian Johnson, were commissioned to provide an accessible way to approach the huge topic with great visual thinking. Weapons of Reason is an publishing venture to understand and articulate the interconnected global issues shaping our world. Each issue is split into three sections, taking a deep dive into the past, present and future of its chosen topic. The magazine isn’t about finding answers, it’s about asking the right questions, exploring the facts at hand and providing ways to inspire action. Weapons of Reason launched a responsive website featuring 15 action points related to the chosen topic, linking out to sharable data-points on Twitter. In the first week of its launch, Weapons of Reasons was featured on Creative Review, Stack, YCN, and Grafik, along with other press.

The Challenge

• Weapons of Reason (WoR) aims to take the most complex challenges facing the world and communicate them simply and powerfully to the widest audience possible.
• Our goal wasn’t to provide answers, but instead ask the right questions and inspire people to join the dots for themselves.
• Most importantly, WoR’s goal is to turn knowledge into action.

The Solution

• We chose ‘The Arctic’ as the debut issue to be explore the the first publication in WoR’s four-year, bi-annual magazine project.
• Using longform storytelling, illustration and striking data visualisations, we divided our 116-page magazine into Past, Present and Future to convey the complex narrative of the Arctic’s issues in a clear, compelling fashion.
• We assembled a expansive team of journalists to delve deeply into the topic, seeking guidance from NASA scientists, polar experts, Nobel Prize winners, IPCC report contributors, climatologists, Inuit representatives, Arctic locals and many more.
• Leading illustrators, including Jean Jullien and Adrian Johnson, were commissioned to provide an accessible way to approach the huge topic with great visual thinking.

Details: Weapons of Reason – Issue 1

Published by Human After All, 137 pgs, 21.1 × 17 cm, Softcover