As print media migrates online, there are some things that just don’t translate. For instance, there is just no replacement for the feeling of leafing through a beautifully designed magazine, its heavy, matte pages emanating that fresh paper smell. One new magazine, existing only online, comes close to rivaling print in design: The Bold Italic, which chronicles the offbeat in San Francisco.The Bold Italic is a project of web design firm Pivotal Labs. They use a stable of freelancers (“The Bold Locals”) for the writing, but what really makes them stand out is the graphic design. Each story is laid out and designed individually, based on what the subject is. Design templates are not their thing.

It seems, unfortunately, that the Bold Italic has put all its resources into the design, as the writing is not on par with it. Perhaps the design is just so good and interesting that it’s difficult to pay attention to the text, but I have yet to read an article fully through without skimming — perhaps the greatest challenge that an only-online magazine must face.

I would like to see the Bold Italic acknowledge the limitation of the online platform and branch out into other forms of visual storytelling, including photos and videos. In the meantime, the design alone is enough to keep me coming back.