The origin of the word ‘perfect’ lies in the Latin perficere: to accomplish, to finish; literally per facere, to make or do completely. In English, it acquires the modern associations of flawlessness towards the end of the Middle Ages and eventually comes to denote an impossibly high ideal. But we prefer the challenge presented in its derivation: the idea of undertaking something and developing it to completion, working it till you’ve done it justice. That’s what we’ve endeavoured to do with Perfect: to take the format of the magazine and elevate it from a disposable paper commodity to a desirable object that satisfies the senses fully, through sound and touch as well as word and image. Not to make it perfect in the modern sense of the word, but to realise it as fully as possible.

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