It always amazes me how many people who work in publishing can't take criticism (and it's 2012, you don't need to be unemployed to use the internet. And if you do, and you are, you likely aren't spending your time on this media industry site). You must be a dream in meetings.

An environmental travesty - not to mention a weak idea.

@Not Impressed... ya, I noticed the cover and thought it looked like a blackened mess and I don't even remember what it even said = forgettable. I'm pretty sure it was hard to read because it was mounted on newsprint which is very floppy and the lenticular needs a flat surface to work properly. I know this because I've worked on them before! Also I have better things to do on a long weekend than ripping off covers on newspapers to put in the garbage before I recycle the rest. But for those who don't sort their garbage, it will just become work for those at the recycling plant = not environmentally friendly.

@Not Impressed — Not once did the "unemployed" claim "they have the answers to the world's problems." Nor were any environmental concerns brought into play whatsoever. The comment was about socio-economics.

@Jeff — Even if not a review, short commentary can bring much light to the gist of a story to be told. Even captions can say more than 30,000 essays. I was surprised to see the lack of insight here.

Wow! It appears a few people will benefit from a badly needed long weekend! I can't recall ever seeing such a strong example of people ranting about what they know nothing about. Folks, at the risk of making it simple, we are talking about an idea brought together with a creative application. Nothing more! It was with surprise and laughter that I've watched this unique application move into an "environmental and design disaster" which was "not environmentally friendly", and then analysed by a group of unemployed know-it-alls sitting in the back yard, explaining their obvious genius, why they are unemployed, and how they have the answers to the world's problems. Folks you all have to get out a bit more. Me? I like the creative application. It's different, and something which has worked, because we are all discussing it! Isn't that what this is all about? Being noticed? Have a great long weekend folks.

@Toronto Designer, thanks for your thoughts. But the article was not intended as a 'review' of the magazine or the cover article. It is merely pointing out something a bit different that a magazine is trying in a competitive market. Perhaps your comment would be better directed at The Grid? Cheers, Jeff

Dear Jeff,

Thank you for your review of The Grid's lenticular cover. Many of my friends were wondering about the printing process, and as a designer, I was curious about the creators of the print.

That said, there is so much missing in the review, I don't know where to begin. For the sake of brevity, I'll only share this:

The Grid lenticular cover is an interesting look at the socio-economic reality of many young Torontonians and of the role The Grid plays in society: advertising first despite the interests of its readers.

The article "Dude, Where's My Pension Plan?" is about young people who are experienced and educated who struggle to enter the workforce in a stable way. This is the main argument of the piece, and they compare "Millenials" to their parents, the "Baby Boomers". There will always be anomalies ("my lazy brother" this or "my entitled daughter" that) but by and large, the 28-35 set is facing a labour market much more restricted than 10 years ago, let alone 30 years ago. To boot, wages have staggered across Canada, student loans are more numerous and students debts are way, way up relative to minimum wage and average full-time income. In addition, and according to Statistics Canada, borrowers "have a significantly lower probability of having savings and investments than non-borrowers." In short. young Torontonians are experiencing economic precarity.

What does the added value of a Subaru-driven lenticular mean? In relation to the cover story? That despite writing relatively sympathetically about the financial plight of young Torontonians (its own readers), The Grid is more committed to advertisers than meets the eye. An article about economic precarity mixed with expensive lenticular printing is quite unsettling.

This weekend, there were 20-odd people in my backyard and The Grid cover started a heated debate. My guests were between the ages of 25 and 35 and a show of hands proved only 4 still had full-time jobs. 12 had full-time jobs previously; but 1 quite and 11 were "restructured" or downgraded to part-time. 1 was back living with parents after 6 years of successful freelance ran dry. Another was living off savings and credit card debt. There were many disagreements, but the one thing everyone agreed was: The Grid has come across as an advertising platform first, rather than an editorial platform supported by ads. We are all adults and recognize ad-supported revenue, but when one trumps the other in such an over tway, the entire publication's credibility suffers.

Jeff, thanks again for your review. I only wish next time the story can be a little more robust.

Cheers,
Toronto Designer

I agree -- an environmental and design disaster.

I thought it was hard to read and not environmentally friendly.