Common Ground
Editorial, 2023
Overview
Art direction and layout for a print quarterly on shared housing. Each issue uses one colour per essay and a single grid throughout.
- Role
- Art director
- Scope
- Layout, type, cover
- Team
- Art director, editor, 2 writers
- Duration
- 6 months, 4 issues
- Platform
- Print quarterly, web
- Tools
- InDesign, Figma
The problem
The magazine mixes long essays, interviews and photo features, and needed to feel coherent without feeling uniform.
Goals
- Feel coherent without feeling uniform
- Make long essays easy to read
- Give each essay its own identity
Success metrics
- Reader retention to the final page
- Subscriber growth per issue
- Layout time per issue
Research
Methods
- Surveyed 120 readers
- Interviewed the editor and 2 writers
- Audited 10 independent quarterlies
Key insights
Readers skim, then dive
Pull quotes and standfirsts decide whether an essay gets read.
Variety needs rules
Readers liked surprises as long as the grid stayed predictable.
Colour aids memory
Readers remembered essays by colour before title.
Who it is for
Lena, 37
Urban planner and subscriber“I read on the train, in short bursts.”
Needs
- Clear structure for long reads
- Obvious places to pause
Frustrations
- Dense text blocks
- Layouts that change between issues
Defining the opportunity
How might we give every essay its own identity while the issue stays one piece?
Design
A strict four-column grid and one typeface family, with a different flat colour assigned to each essay. Covers use the same geometry cropped differently.
Key decisions
A strict four-column grid
One grid on every page keeps the issue coherent.
One colour per essay
Flat colour marks each essay and helps readers navigate.
Comfortable long-form type
Generous leading and a single type family keep essays readable.
Key visuals
Testing and iteration
- Round 1: printed two sample spreads for 10 readers. Colour helped, but captions were too small.
- Round 2: raised caption size and tightened margins. Readers reached the end of essays more often.
Results
Readers began collecting the issues as a set, and subscriptions grew steadily across all four.
Reflection
A system freed the editor to focus on content. Next: a web edition built on the same grid and colours.