Locale Magazine A conceptual print publication focused on inspiring travellers to explore dream destinations with the local perspective.

ResearchAs the art director for the project, I was in charge of creating Locale Magazine’s overall graphic identity and helping with the direction of content strategy. I started by looking at other competing travel magazines, such as Suitcase, Hayo, and Lonely Planet, and how my team’s magazine could visually stand out. I noticed that these magazines heavily relied on culture-related imagery to sell travel and to cultivate interest and aspirational value in the experiences of travelling abroad.

I also looked at onthegrid.city (side note: I sourced most of the magazine’s images from this website), which is an online platform where creatives from around the world contribute to local neighbourhood guides, and noted how the authentic photography and honest suggestions for certain destinations were used to entice readers of the site to be potential travellers.

Design DecisionsAfter familiarizing myself with the competition and collecting a variety of photography and print inspiration, I keenly went ahead and created concept sketches for the cover and spreads and then transformed these into digital mockups for our travel magazine.

For the mockups of the cover, I wanted imagery to be the prominent focus and to look like it was carefully chosen and styled to reflect the city. I also played with strong typography for the nameplate so that it would recognizable on store shelves. I sent these mockups to my team members to seek feedback and they really liked the second mockup as the cover to move forward with in the future designs. They were drawn to this cover because the nameplate was bold and the imagery represented the kind of style and direction we wanted.

Final ProductFor the final design, Locale’s visual style employs clean, minimal, and modern design. All print issues include a photo essay on the particular city and offers a vibrant glimpse into the lifestyle of the locals. Each print issue is also given their own ambient colour on the cover to reflect the city’s personality and atmosphere. With its sophisticated look, the reader will want to display it in their home, or bring it along with them on their next adventure.