When we first started Sight Unseen back in 2009, we’d spent nearly a decade working in traditional print magazine journalism. Despite launching shortly after the rise of blog culture, we insisted that Sight Unseen be called an online magazine, doubling down on our commitment to long-form feature stories and our hallowed idea of what respectable journalism ought to be.

But at the same time, right from the beginning, we thought of our site as a forum for indulging our own interests and obsessions, publishing things that were only tangentially related to the news of the day. As the years went by and our status as design authorities grew, we shifted away from interviewing our inner circle about their weird collections or the books they drew inspiration from, and we took a more expansive approach, covering of-the-moment exhibitions, interiors, and talents. And yet Sight Unseen still always felt curated — fundamentally a reflection of our personal point of view. It’s what people love so much about the site.

As we approach our 17th year in business, that curated sensibility is what we want to double down on. As the media landscape has become increasingly fragmented — and social platforms have grown more alienating, with AI-generated content flooding our feeds and algorithms determining who sees what — having a direct line to our readers, with content that’s both highly personal to us and more tailored to what people actually want, feels essential.

That’s why we’re relaunching Sight Unseen this Thursday, September 4th, in a new newsletter format that reflects both the evolving media landscape and our own growth as readers and creators. Delivered to your email inbox once a week, it will be more personal and curated than ever — a departure, but also something of a return to our roots.

Each newsletter will function like its own self-contained issue, mixing our favorite elements from magazine journalism with the best parts of a Substack: short, timely articles up front, followed by personal Editor’s Picks, news links, and occasional brief interludes from hand-picked guest editors. Each newsletter will also be published to our website, creating a searchable archive, but there’s no fee to subscribe — Sight Unseen is advertiser supported, as always — so if you haven’t already signed up for our newsletter, there’s nothing stopping you from doing so right here!

We’re excited to have you along for this next chapter.

—Monica Khemsurov and Jill Singer
Co-founders and Editors, Sight Unseen