Architectural Digest (stylized in all caps) is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920.[2] Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes international editions of Architectural Digest in China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico/Latin America, the Middle East, Poland, and Spain.[3]
Architectural Digest is aimed at an affluent and style-conscious readership, and is subtitled "The International Design Authority."[4][5] The magazine releases the annual AD100 list, which recognizes the most influential interior designers and architects around the world.[6]
Architectural Digest also hosts a popular online video series entitled Open Door that gives an in-depth look at the unique homes of various prominent celebrities and public figures.[7]
Originally a quarterly trade directory called The Architectural Digest: A Pictorial Digest of California's Best Architecture,[citation needed] the magazine was launched in 1920[8][9][10] by John Coke Brasfield (1880–1962).[11][12][13] Brasfield, born in Tennessee,[11][12][13] moved to southern California in the early 1900s,[14] where he founded the John C. Brasfield Publishing Corporation in Los Angeles.[15] Interiors and exteriors of residences were featured in the magazine, along with floor plans.[citation needed]
By 1963, the magazine's subtitle had been altered to A Pictorial Digest of Outstanding Architecture, Interior Design, and Landscaping,[citation needed] and it began publishing on a bimonthly schedule.[citation needed] In 1965,[14]The Architectural Digest and its publishing company were purchased by Cleon T. Knapp, who was the magazine's "jack-of-all-trades"[16] and Brasfield's grandson.[14] Knapp son of Brasfield's daughter Sarah "Sally" Brasfield Knapp (1910–1996), who served, at various times, as the magazine's editor in chief, managing editor, and associate publisher.[citation needed] The magazine's subtitle was altered to The Quality Guide to Home Decorating Ideas in 1966,[14] and was changed again, in 1971, to The Connoisseur's Magazine of Fine Interior Design,[14] and in 1976 to The International Magazine of Fine Interior Design.[14] The John C. Brasfield Publishing Company was renamed Knapp Communications Corporation in 1977.[citation needed] From 1965 on, the magazine was published in color.[17]
Condé Nast Publications purchased Architectural Digest, as well as its sister publication Bon Appétit, from Knapp in 1993.[18]
