Northpage Journal
Typography-led identity and layout system for an independent quarterly magazine.
The challenge
Northpage wanted to move from a hobby zine to a magazine sold in independent bookshops, without losing the personal voice its readers loved.
The approach
- Paired a classic serif for long reading with a compact sans for captions, on a 12-column grid that flexes from essays to photo stories.
- Designed a masthead that works at thumbnail size on social media and full size on a shelf.
- Created reusable spreads and paragraph styles so the two-person team can lay out an issue in days, not weeks.
The results
31bookshops stocking the first redesigned issue
3 daysto lay out an issue, down from 2 weeks
Sold outfirst print run of 1,500 copies
"It finally looks like the magazine we always imagined."