We’ve changed. Not dramatically, but the magazine you’re reading right now has gone through a transformation. You may be thinking, Wow, that was fast. In fact, it was pretty slow. We started this process this time last year—cataloging the improvements we wanted to make, looking at other magazines for inspiration, making room in the budget. We asked ourselves a lot of questions: What works? What doesn’t? How can we present the information better? How can we make the magazine more pleasing to the eye and more fun to read? We had more than a few bull sessions, plastered the huddle room walls with Post-it notes, then turned everything over to our design team and said, “Have at it.” And then it took another six months.
Which is how these things go. Cincinnati Magazine has a lively digital presence and is constantly developing new ancillary projects, but the heart of the operation is the monthly. While facts and data buzz through our synapses faster every day, a monthly magazine is an ingeniously retro piece of information technology, built to help you slow down and linger. We wanted to make sure we got it right.
So, what’s changed? Frontlines and Radar continue to anchor the front of the book but the design is more fluid and interactive—punchier. We’ve reduced some of the art and incorporated more sidebars and peripheral infographics. You’ll encounter new pages and rubrics (Dispatch, High Profile, Great Room) alongside crowd-pleasers like Dr. Know, Intersection, and Escape. The What’s Happening page has been rebirthed as The List. And in the back, the Dine section has undergone the biggest overhaul: The main review (Dining Out) shrinks to two pages and is followed by seven pages of new standalone articles. Finally, the Dining Guide listings have a crisp new font and more timely news bites.
Overall, the new look is streamlined, sophisticated, and modular. The lion’s share of the credit goes to our creative director Grace Saunders and deputy art director Megan Scherer. It was their combined vision—along with countless gallons of coffee—that produced this redesign, and they have done a remarkable job.
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