FEATURE / RETROSPECTIVE
WE THOUGHT IT WAS
SO ADVANCED AND
HIGH-TECH TO BE
SENDING FILES TO
THE PRINTER VIA ISDNa logo was designed and a mock issue was
made that could be taken to trade shows.
Called ‘Issue 000’, it laid the foundation for
what was to become Custom PC. By this
time, the font had been nailed for the logo and
Gareth and James had settled on a general
style of writing and design. The main cover
feature, Build your dream PC, is also one that
we’ve regularly come back to over the years.
It wasn’t a full issue. It contained 32 pages
that were repeated several times to bump
up the thickness, but it covered a bit of all
the essentials, including news, reviews
and games coverage. Issue 000 was well
received, and work progressed towards the
first proper issue.
During this time Julie Birrell was employed
as a full-time production editor (and she’s still
here!), while Alex Watson and Josh Blodwell
were brought on as staff writers and Daniel
Emery edited the games section. The team
then worked many long days and evenings on
the first issue (see opposite), recruiting a team
of freelancers (including me) to help out.
‘We thought it was so advanced and high-
tech to be sending files to the printer via
ISDN,’ recalls Julie Birrell about the process
of assembling that first issue. That’s how
long ago this was. In case you’re too young to
remember, Integrated Services Digital Network(ISDN) provided an early form of broadband in
the UK. Eventually, the first issue went to press,
and a bottle of bubbly was opened when the
last page was finally sent to the printer.
However, if you look closely at the first
issue, you’ll also notice a killer typo on the
spine, where it says ‘Isuue 1’ rather than ‘Issue
1’, which severely narked the team who’d
spent many long nights working on the first
issue. At this point, news and features were
covered on a freelance basis by Stewart
Mitchell and Paul Hales, but there was an
open space for a full-time role, which I went
for. I’d just quit PC Pro and had worked on
the first issue of Custom PC as a freelancer,
before bring brought on as full-time news
and features editor for Issue 5. The first full
Custom PC team was now complete.A shaky start
I think it’s okay to talk about this now, but
Custom PC didn’t get off to a great start
when it was first released. We were reallypleased with the content, and the readers
liked what we were doing too, but the arty
cover designs weren’t selling the magazine
on the shelves. The cover for Issue 1 looks
subtle and smart with its mustard-coloured
background, but it doesn’t scream ‘awesome
PC hardware!’ You have to look at it for a
couple of seconds to see what it’s about.
The writing was nearly on the wall after
Issue 4, where the lead cover feature- Windows XP Makeover - was about
skinning Windows to customise it to your
liking. It bombed. Our publisher called an
emergency meeting, and we all agreed that
we needed to restyle the cover to go big on
photography that properly represented the
hardware inside.
Issue 5 sold better, with a few shots of
various PC hardware on the front. Then
Issue 6, with just one large dynamically
angled photo of a dual-channel memory kit,
nailed it. Custom PC was now on the road to
success – people clearly wanted big photos
of fancy circuitboards in their face, and I can’t
say I blame them.
Issue 1 featured a very irritating typo on the spine – ‘Isuue 1’ rather than ‘Issue 1’Voodoo PC was one of a few companies
making systems targeted at enthusiasts,
making good use of automotive paint and
custom chassis modsFEATURE / RETROSPECTIVE
WE THOUGHT IT WAS
SO ADVANCED AND
HIGH-TECH TO BE
SENDING FILES TO
THE PRINTER VIA ISDN
a logo was designed and a mock issue was
made that could be taken to trade shows.
Called ‘Issue 000’, it laid the foundation for
what was to become Custom PC. By this
time, the font had been nailed for the logo and
Gareth and James had settled on a general
style of writing and design. The main cover
feature, Build your dream PC, is also one that
we’ve regularly come back to over the years.
It wasn’t a full issue. It contained 32 pages
that were repeated several times to bump
up the thickness, but it covered a bit of all
the essentials, including news, reviews
and games coverage. Issue 000 was well
received, and work progressed towards the
first proper issue.
During this time Julie Birrell was employed
as a full-time production editor (and she’s still
here!), while Alex Watson and Josh Blodwell
were brought on as staff writers and Daniel
Emery edited the games section. The team
then worked many long days and evenings on
the first issue (see opposite), recruiting a team
of freelancers (including me) to help out.
‘We thought it was so advanced and high-
tech to be sending files to the printer via
ISDN,’ recalls Julie Birrell about the process
of assembling that first issue. That’s how
long ago this was. In case you’re too young to
remember, Integrated Services Digital Network
(ISDN)providedanearlyformofbroadbandin
theUK.Eventually,thefirstissuewenttopress,
anda bottleofbubblywasopenedwhenthe
lastpagewasfinallysenttotheprinter.
However,if youlookcloselyatthefirst
issue,you’llalsonoticea killertypoonthe
spine, where it says ‘Isuue 1’ rather than ‘Issue
1’, which severely narked the team who’d
spent many long nights working on the first
issue. At this point, news and features were
covered on a freelance basis by Stewart
Mitchell and Paul Hales, but there was an
open space for a full-time role, which I went
for. I’d just quit PC Pro and had worked on
the first issue of Custom PC as a freelancer,
before bring brought on as full-time news
and features editor for Issue 5. The first full
Custom PC team was now complete.A shaky start
I think it’s okay to talk about this now, but
Custom PC didn’t get off to a great start
when it was first released. We were reallypleased with the content, and the readers
liked what we were doing too, but the arty
cover designs weren’t selling the magazine
on the shelves. The cover for Issue 1 looks
subtle and smart with its mustard-coloured
background, but it doesn’t scream ‘awesome
PC hardware!’ You have to look at it for a
couple of seconds to see what it’s about.
The writing was nearly on the wall after
Issue 4, where the lead cover feature- Windows XP Makeover - was about
skinning Windows to customise it to your
liking. It bombed. Our publisher called an
emergency meeting, and we all agreed that
we needed to restyle the cover to go big on
photography that properly represented the
hardware inside.
Issue 5 sold better, with a few shots of
various PC hardware on the front. Then
Issue 6, with just one large dynamically
angled photo of a dual-channel memory kit,
nailed it. Custom PC was now on the road to
success – people clearly wanted big photos
of fancy circuitboards in their face, and I can’t
say I blame them.
Issue 1 featured a very irritating typo on the spine – ‘Isuue 1’ rather than ‘Issue 1’
Voodoo PC was one of a few companies
making systems targeted at enthusiasts,
making good use of automotive paint and
custom chassis mods