Objective: To redesign the Museum’s long established journal ‘America in Britain’. This is the only museum of Americana outside the United States, with the aim of bringing American history and cultures to the people of the UK and Europe. The journal is an important way for the museum to engage with their supporters, promote the collection to a wider audience, and encourage new and original research.
The redesign of the journal had to be fresh and interesting, reflecting the Museum’s brand values, whilst focusing on its diverse collection and high quality research.
The Journal is offered as a premium benefit of higher levels of Museum membership, this needed to be reflected in high production values, in the design and in the quality of print.
We also had to ensure that the redesign would fit with the museum’s overall digital strategy which will, in the future, enable a smooth transition of the Journal from print to digital delivery.
We wanted to tap into the recent resurgence in independent publishing – reflected in a desire for high quality print, interesting paper stocks and carefully considered design. We wanted to produce a tactile and pleasurable reading experience.
We chose three stocks of FSC* certified paper: an uncoated cover, a silk text section and a coloured endpaper section. We used Park Lane Press whose waterless printing process produces vibrant colour, increased image clarity and, importantly, has less impact on the environment.
In recognition that the journal will be moving towards an e-magazine format, the page layouts can be used identically in digital and print formats and we have also started looking at further ways to make the digital format more interactive.
*Forest Stewardship Council
“Not only were The Co-Foundry a pleasure to work with, the feedback from our supporters has been extremely positive. The authors are delighted to see their articles published in such a fine looking publication. They are a wonderful team, so patient and intuitive. We feel they have our best interests at heart and work hard to produce design that promotes the Museum in the best possible light. We have found ourselves turning to them again and again over the last year with a range of design projects – and again and again we are delighted with the process and the results.
—Dr Cathryn Spence, Curator of Archives, American Museum & Gardens
