Dialann

20–36 pages (excluding covers), full color
January 2011–October 2013: 7.75×9.75 inches (19.7×24.8 cm)
January 2014–present: 8.5×11 inches (21.6×27.9 cm)

When our first child was born, my wife and I realized that we needed a better way to preserve and share family memories. We decided to go with an idea that had been brewing in my mind for some time: creating a full-color, professional-looking magazine. We produce it quarterly, curating the best stories from the previous three months and telling them through words and photos. Each issue is assembled using Adobe software and one copy is printed by Blurb.

In late 2012 we launched an online version at Dialann.org to share our memories with a wider audience of family and friends. It includes most of the content—text and photos—from the print edition. But since it is also shared with anyone on the internet, we have the additional challenge of creating an online version of many articles in which friends’ and family members’ personal information is redacted. Since it launched, it has garnered thousands of page views.

In December 2013 we produced the first compilation volume, combining the first 12 issues in one book.

Creating a quarterly family magazine provides a welcome and challenging opportunity to exercise my creativity and hone my writing and design skills, free from the constraints of a client. And it results in a priceless record of the lives of my family and children.

View the online version of Dialann, including the full layout of complete issues, at Dialann.org.