The Travel Magazine
Rebrand
Overview
A rebrand of The Travel Magazine, an existing online travel publication. I analysed the brand and its market, defined its audience, and proposed ways to increase engagement. Then I designed a new identity and applied it to posters, a print magazine, an interactive magazine, a website redesign and a physical display stand, and finished with a cost estimate.
The brief
Define the magazine's audience and propose new features to increase engagement, then design new promotional and graphic materials to support the new concept.
Research
The current brand
One logo (the word "travel" filled with a beach photo), a black, blue and white palette with blue as the only accent, and one typeface, Open Sans, for every article and headline.
The website offers a wide variety of articles in clear categories and works well on mobile, but the design lacks visual appeal, a distracting ad dominates the top of the page, and the social links are hard to find. There's no print edition. I thought one was worth introducing, even as a digital edition sent by email.
Competitors
Compared with Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveller, TTM speaks to budget-conscious travellers rather than only luxury readers, and its simple design puts readability first. But it has no clear "destinations" category, no subscription, and no login for deals and travel savings.
Audience
Travel lovers looking for simple, affordable advice: city guides, travel tips, news and budget tips. Travellers and families who want useful information rather than aspirational content, including slightly older readers who want clear content and reliable reviews.
PESTEL
- Political: travel regulations can shape which destinations get covered, and some destinations have safety issues.
- Economic: recessions and inflation push readers toward budget travel, and exchange rates affect what's affordable.
- Social: growing interest in wellness, adventure and cultural travel. Instagram and TikTok strongly influence travel decisions.
- Technological: booking platforms and apps have changed how people plan, and virtual reality could offer immersive previews.
- Environmental: climate change affects destinations, so the magazine can promote sustainable travel.
- Legal: images and articles must respect copyright.
SWOT
- Strengths: regularly updated, many content types, first in search results for "travel magazine", and online only, in step with the move away from print.
- Weaknesses: barely uses TikTok or YouTube, doesn't target a specific audience, and doesn't organise content in a digestible way, for example by country.
- Opportunities: social video, airline affiliate links, selling travel guides, creator collaborations, and weekly or monthly subscription issues.
- Threats: people spend more time on social media than on websites, AI-generated content, an economic slowdown, and competitors publishing personal travel stories.
Persona: Claire Morel
38, married with a young child, lives in Brussels and works in communications. Curious and organised, she plans ahead, compares options and prefers practical advice over dreamy photos. She wants to travel efficiently and stress free while discovering local culture and food. She finds many blogs biased or sponsored, and wants a source she can trust quickly.
Process
01 · Three moodboards
- Moodboard 1 (Sofia): explore, sunny, golden, reliable, informative.
- Moodboard 2 (Scandia): adventure, saturated, fun, radiant, clarity.
- Moodboard 3 (Proxima Nova and Mencken Std Head): discover, photography, turquoise, souvenirs, sand.
02 · The chosen concept
I went with the third direction: soft colours, especially blues and turquoise that evoke water, images with a photographic feel, and the quality of a postcard, something you want to keep and treasure.
03 · New identity
The photo-filled wordmark becomes a clean serif "THE TRAVEL MAGAZINE" with a circular compass badge. The palette moves from black, blue and white to sand, yellow, turquoise, light blue and navy, and Open Sans is replaced by Mencken Std Head and Proxima Nova.
04 · Applications
Posters: two teasers for the relaunch, "Departing" and "Arriving Soon", built with collaged maps, a paper plane and postcard textures.
Print magazine: a 12-page issue plus cover, themed "Chasing Waterfalls": an editor's note, a table of contents, and features on the world's most stunning cascades, Iceland's misty falls, easy hikes and day trips for every level.
Interactive magazine: a clickable digital version of the issue. Website: a redesign of the homepage with a calmer layout, a featured-article slider, travel news, a newsletter sign-up and the latest issue.
Display stand: a cardboard magazine stand. I designed the dieline, then built a physical prototype.
05 · Cost estimate
| Item | Details | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Magazine printing | 300 copies, 8.5 × 11 in, 12 pages + cover, matte 12 pt colour cover, 85 lb gloss interior, saddle-stitched | $975.00 |
| Web hosting | SiteGround GrowBig plan for WordPress (about $82 the first year, then about $492 a year) | $82.00 |
| Subtotal | $1,057.00 | |
| QST + GST | 9.975% + 5% | $158.34 |
| Total | $1,215.34 |
About one month of work from the start, with a 50% deposit when the quote is accepted.
Deliverables
- Brand and market analysis: competitors, audience, PESTEL, SWOT, persona
- Three moodboards and a chosen concept
- New identity
- Two teaser posters
- Print and interactive magazine
- Website redesign
- Display stand and prototype
- Cost estimate
Final work
