The Gentlewoman
Visual Identity + Publication Design
Reimagining
This brief challenged designers to redesign the visual identity of an existing publication, including specifically a cover, a feature spread and a webpage design. As publication design is my favorite, I was all over this.
I immediately looked to one of my favorite women’s fashion and culture magazines, picking an issue right off of my shelf.
The original cover, for reference.
Redesigned feature spread, featuring my handwriting and edited scans of ripped paper.
Original feature spread.
While the loud collages are the most obvious change, I focused on typography as well. Where one would generally find a clean sans serif on The Gentlewoman’s pages, I replaced with either my own handwriting—intentionally stylized to be unpolished—or a rounded and stylized serif typeface called Roca.
The visual themes established with the print publication are represented on the redesigned website.
Redesigned cover of the Spring and Summer 2016 issue featuring Kirsten Dunst.
The Gentlewoman typically boasts fairly organized and minimalist layouts. Their designs rely heavily on typography—primarily Futura—still life photography and portraits, and color block. While I love a solidly type-and-solid-bold-color-driven brand (ahaha), I decided to try to take The Gentlewoman out of its “comfort zone” by trading order for disruption.
The result was a cut-and-ripped-paper collage style issue, featuring handwritten and drawn elements and an overstuffed cover.
Ripping paper is very therapeutic.
Redesigned logotype, AKA my stylized handwriting.