Spotlight on Julia Noran: President and Site Director, The Editor At Large

In the rapidly changing world of design publication, The Editor At Large has revolutionized the way print and online design publications source content.  We talked with president and site director Julia Noran about who is publishing design projects now and how to get their attention.

When did you first become interested in design publications?

I majored in journalism and my first job out of college was with Architectural Digest.  Though I’d always been interested in art, it was really my time at AD that gave me my foundation in design.  I would sort project submissions for the then editor Paige Rense Noland to review and once she’d put them in the “yes, no or maybe” piles I’d send letters to the designers, photographers and homeowners who had submitted them. 

After AD, I did freelance writing for regional design or luxury market magazines and then moved to New York and worked for Veranda magazine in their marketing department. That’s where I learned about how the business end worked and how ad space was sold in order to keep a publication afloat. I helped promote the magazine through events and traveled with the editors, which helped me see how they sourced content.

Tell us about the founding of The Editor At Large.

Even before I left Veranda in 2008, I could see that there were a lot of changes happening in the industry. Major magazines like Domino and House & Garden had folded.  New design blogs were popping up.  But the bloggers didn’t have the staff to be everywhere to cover what was going on and the magazines that were still standing had shrinking staffs so they couldn’t look at source material as easily.  I thought about creating The Editor At Large to fill in the gaps for both of them.

I knew there was still a lot of great design work out there that should be seen by the public. I thought that if we could create a site where design professionals could post their work for a nominal fee it would be to everyone’s advantage. Now, in addition to creating digital press kits, we also offer content that keeps the industry up on design industry news, events, jobs and TV coverage. We continue to hear how valuable this is to the design community.

With all the upheaval in publication, how has the submission process changed?

Each magazine editor has his or her own preferences as to submissions.  Some large shelter magazine editors prefer glossies while bloggers beg people to submit low-res images that won’t clog up their email, but both are using our services.  They can come to our site and search “barns” if they want to do a barn story or “purple” for a color story and find lots of projects that work in that category. Then the editor or blogger can contact the designer directly to see if they’re willing to be published by them.

Do you think the tech-savvy public is more likely to find a designer through online sources rather than print magazines?

Designers are definitely finding work through exposure on blogs and websites. I’ve heard about designers getting work from projects featured on HGTV.com or Apartment Therapy.   But print publications still have their place. The design trade follows the shelter magazines and a feature there can be a “trophy” to show to potential clients, but other exposure through local or regional general interest magazines often brings more work.

Does your site help designers determine which publication is best for his or her work?

We try to be hands off—we’re not a PR firm.  We offer a one-time consultation with a seasoned editor just to make sure that a press kit is complete, but for in-depth strategy we still recommend hiring a full service PR person.

What should designers include in a submission to catch an editor’s eye?

A comprehensive collection of photos that represents the entire house is best because most publications prefer a whole house project.  If you have a real showstopper of a room you can include ten photos of that room, but it’s more likely to go to an online publication because they have more flexibility in what they publish.

Are scouting shots enough or does a designer need to pay a professional to photograph his or her work for submission?

Scouting shots are fine if you have a decent camera—more than a Blackberry or iPhone.  Look for basic tips online about how to take a good photo.  If you have really good photos a blog might run them as they are, but a print publication will likely want to reshoot.

With your overview of projects happening right now, what exciting developments are you seeing in interior design? 

There’s a lot of chatter about how today’s “modern family” lives.  The kitchen continues to be the center of the home and the place where everyone gathers so homeowners are devoting more square footage to the kitchen and placing a large table in the middle.  Cooking is so much of the entertaining process now and so homeowners want to easily move from the stove to the table.  Everything is more casual and relaxed. As designer Windsor Smith recently commented at the Veranda Showhouse, “the conversation at the kitchen table is very different than the one at the dining room table.”

In terms of design trends, we’re seeing a lot of exotic, ethnic influences—nomadic prints and patterns are popular.  And in terms of color, we’re seeing taupe-based purples and mauves, warm magentas, berries, and corals along with cool greys, whites and creams.

Where do you see the field of interior design heading?

Design tends to follow fashion and just as top fashion designers have become celebrities, top-tier interior designers are also achieving celebrity status.  And yet, even as interior designers gain notoriety on shows like Bravo’s Million Dollar Decorators or Flipping Out, they’re also trying to be accessible to a larger audience.

One way this is happening is through nontraditional design consultations like Vanessa De Vargas’s “e-decorating” or Windsor Smith’s “Room In A Box” where clients will email the designer a floor plan and photos, answer questions about their style preferences and then the designer will email them back with suggestions for furniture, paint colors, and accessories.  Then the client will do the execution.

The emergence of more retail options for good design—like those offered at Williams-Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn and west elm—has helped educate the public about good taste and raised awareness and enthusiasm for more sophisticated design.  That helps the designer and client carry on a more productive dialogue about where their design is headed.