Editorial brand systems
Exberliner
Berlin’s English-language city magazine, where I spent three years as Art Director. I oversaw the brand’s art direction across the run, personally designed around 70% of each issue with support from an assistant, and in 2017 led the magazine’s rebrand — a new logo paired with a complete overhaul of the design system.
- Art direction
- Brand design
- Editorial design
- Print production
- Illustration
- Role
- Art Director
- Years
- 2015–2018
- Cadence
- Monthly print
- Today
- Rebranded as The Berliner
Art direction and the 2017 rebrand
Over three years I led the magazine’s art direction and personally designed around 70% of each issue with support from an assistant. In 2017 I led the magazine’s rebrand — a new logo and a complete overhaul of the design system.
Spreads
Unlike Lola, Exberliner was extremely information-rich, with a complex hierarchy and many requirements and limitations. Visual breathing room is replaced by careful weighting that allows many elements to draw attention (or not) in the right order to guide the reader through the spreads. Word counts and ad placements needed to be negotiated against photography, illustrations, info boxes, captions and pull-outs, with visual consistency across 80 pages without becoming formulaic.
Behind the issue · The art direction came with the rest of the production stack: managing relationships with printers, illustrators and photographers, booking and often art directing photoshoots, and pseudonymously contributing illustrations and occasional photography where the budget wouldn’t stretch.
The 15th anniversary edition
For the magazine’s 15th anniversary I designed a 5-colour special edition with a spot metallic gold ink, plus a launch-party poster keyed to the same finish.
Outcome
Three years, 28 issues, a rebrand and a 15th-anniversary special edition that carried the masthead into its next chapter as The Berliner.
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