Branding for the Web
The new look of the publication primarily centered on three, crucial areas:- its logo;
- its suite of fonts;
- its abbreviated social media logo.
Revised logo
Readers will be taken by the most notable of all three changes, which is the update to the magazine’s logo. Whereas the old logo had letters that were spaced together very tightly — and, as a result, was harder to read — the new logo design features more generous tracking. This greatly increases legibility on the Web.
New typefaces
The changes to typeface didn’t stop at the logo of the magazine. The publication has also introduced a whole new suite of original fonts. The typefaces were the creation of Henrik Kubel from A2-Type. The magazine got rid of their entire slew of old fonts to make room for this sweeping design change.
Redesigning for the Web
That brings us to the next goal that the editor wanted to accomplish in this redesign: making the magazine more friendly to readers on the Web, one thing that the magazine struggled to successfully pull off…until now, they hope. [pullquote]an increasing number of Times’ readers have switched to digital-only[/pullquote] Traditionally, The New York Times Magazine, for all its longevity, has only always been a so-called “in-betweener.” It was both trapped in the middle of the Times’ bulky Sunday print edition, as well as being a “long-form subsite” on the Times’ website. Because an increasing number of Times’ readers have switched to digital-only, Silverstein wanted to build up the magazine’s branding on the Internet, through its web edition. That’s where having a new family of custom typeface will prove so instrumental.Shorter social media logo
As part of this new strategy to build up the web presence of the publication, it’s no surprise that Silverstein also focused on social media in the redesign, particularly the magazine’s social media logo.

Cleaner page layout
Now, a part of the redesign of the magazine also goes beyond just the typography. In keeping up with the design trends of minimalism in the last, few years, Silverstein also decided to introduce a much cleaner layout to the magazine’s pages. Sporting a more stripped-down look, the publication’s pages now feature fewer columns than in the past. Currently, readers will only see seven columns, but past editions featured as many as 12. The redesign team decided that having 12 columns on a page made the magazine appear too congested and excessively symmetrical. By reducing the number of columns, each page can now “breathe,” which is vital to providing the design with a cleaner appearance. [pullquote]trying to make itself more friendly to Web readers, the magazine is striving to reflect the environment around it[/pullquote] For a publication that’s been around for more than a century—and with no signs of slowing down—The New York Times Magazine sure hasn’t been resistant to change, to its credit. Its last redesign was almost four years ago, and the editor’s decision for another redesign so soon after is a sign of the publication’s commitment to keeping up with the times (no pun intended). The mission of the redesign was to make the magazine stand out and emerge from the shadow of its more well-known parent, The New York Times. By constantly evolving in its design approach, The New York Times Magazine ensures that it still stays relevant to readers, even 119 years after first being published. By updating its look to simpler and cleaner minimalism while also trying to make itself more friendly to Web readers, the magazine is striving to reflect the environment around it.Marc Schenker
Marc’s a copywriter who covers design news for Web Designer Depot. Find out more about him at thegloriouscompanyltd.com.
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