An interesting development in B2B magazine design took place a few weeks ago. Three magazines in three different markets were redesigned and launched to a silent fanfare.
The magazines, Computer Weekly, Electronics Weekly and Microscope, were designed at RBI UKs Creative department by editorial design manager Soo Abram. The brief was to make the magazines a must-read companion to the websites.
The rationale for the same design for all three magazines? Well, it's easier for the production desk to put the magazines together as one team works on all three mags. It is thought that it is unlikely that a reader would purchase more than one of the mags, so wouldn't notice the similarity. Oh, and the redesign costs would be smaller – think about it, one design:three magazines. One other thing: the production desk consists entirely of layout subeditors, not one trained designer there.
The formulaic approach works for these titles: rigid templates and style sheets are in place; and everything is squared up. Not so different from a website or blog...
How far can this one-size-fits-all approach go? It would be an interesting to see Lady Magazine and Mens Health with the same treatment, or even Horse & Hound and Playboy!
Comments