ABOUT
Form & Function started with a frustration. We were tired of the onslaught of product coverage that missed the mark: obsessing over inconsequential specifications, chasing transient trends, and —worst of all—not caring about the actual product. We were tired of content that was more interested in garnering clicks than asking the important questions. Does this product make daily life better? Does it do so beautifully?
Recognizing this need, we created a publication that grounds thoughtful analysis in foundational values. As our name implies, we focus on the intersection of aesthetics and utility, believing that the best products marry these attributes. We believe that the things surrounding us shape how we think, work, and live. A mechanical keyboard isn’t just switches and keycaps—it’s the haptic response that helps propel your writing. A lamp isn’t merely about brightening a room—it’s the way it makes you feel when you sit down to work or rest.
Our mission is to help restore the golden age of brand loyalty, exploring how beautiful products can influence and enrich our lives. Accomplishing this mission involves doing two things well.
First, we want to help readers discover brands that they can trust, brands with rich design philosophies and deep commitments to excellence. These brands don’t plan obsolescence or snatch short-sighted returns. They pursue values that stretch beyond mere profit, addressing the more holistic complexities of human life.
Second, we want to create a publication that amplifies founders and their work. We value the layers of intentionality in every great product, but a product’s unique history and decision decisions are too often hidden. We want to bring these qualities to light, creating a platform where founders can connect and establish credibility with our growing audience.
We’re independent, opinionated, and building this in the open. We publish a weekly newsletter as well as a quarterly print magazine, crafted by a small team that genuinely loves this stuff.
Form and Function Team
Our mission is to help restore the golden age of brand loyalty, exploring how beautiful products can influence and enrich our lives.
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Interviews with founders, curated product lists, and thoughtful reflections. Free, in your inbox, every week.
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A beautiful magazine designed to be enjoyed, shared, and displayed. Quarterly.
Founder
A creative and product reviewer based in Roanoke, Virginia. After a decade working in marketing and advertising, he went independent to focus on building his own brands: the tech-review-oriented Spencer Scott Pugh YouTube channel as well as Form & Function, a publication committed to amplifying excellent products and founders. He's a husband, father of two, and a man of faith who cares deeply about craft, family, and doing good work with good people.
Editor-in-chief
A writer, editor, and literature teacher. He holds a PhD in English and currently serves as an assistant editor for The Steinbeck Review. In addition to his scholarly work, which often focuses on the intersection of environmentalism and literature, he also writes creatively and has been published in such places as the New Verse Review, Warkitchen, Inwell, Front Porch Republic, among others. He enjoys fly fishing, spending time with his family, and living a quiet life in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Art Director
A solutions-oriented art director guided by curiosity, clarity, and a deep respect for thoughtful design. She brings more than a decade of creative experience across editorial, print, and digital work, with a background in photography that sharpens her visual instincts and attention to detail. Her work is grounded in the ability to bring structure to complex ideas, translating strategy into design that feels intentional, refined, and effective.
We don’t cover things because they’re new. We cover what was made well — on purpose, by people doing the work with integrity. Choosing thoughtfully is a small act of stewardship.
Good design is function made beautiful. When something works exactly as it should and looks exactly right, it’s not a coincidence. It’s the highest standard of craft.
Behind every product worth writing about is a person who chose every detail. We give them the mic and let them tell you why — without the gloss of a press release.
Form & Function is independently run and transparent about how it’s made. When we partner with brands, we work with ones we genuinely believe in — and we’ll always tell you when we have.
One thoughtful issue a week, in your inbox — a founder’s story, the products they make, and the thinking behind them. No noise, no upsell.