John Morgan studio redesigns ArtReview magazine

According to the magazine, the new design aims to reflect the publication’s ‘expanded editorial content and its increasingly global audience’.

John Morgan Studio was appointed to the project in November last year following a three-way pitch.

The consultancy designed a new custom masthead and introduced the Lexicon typeface, aiming to add clarity throughout the publication, alongside new text bubbles.

A new, less glossy feel and off-white colour have also been introduced.

John Morgan studio says, ‘[ArtReview] had carried the same design for a few years now, with the same logo, but the layout had changed so [the magazine] had a history of building and rebuilding. There was a desire to have a new start’.

John Morgan studio says that the new designs aim to reflect a ‘more mature’ editorial direction that also underlines the heritage and history of the magazine, which was first published in 1949.

It says, ‘We created a calm, simple structure that allows moments of playfulness. The system we used on the cover will be developed as more issues come out’.

The new layout of the magazine adds an extra 5mm of width to give ‘breathing space for both text and images, resulting in a new harmony throughout’, according to ArtReview.

The September cover features a collaboration with Brazilian artist Fernanda Gomes, and future covers will take the form of a specially commissioned portrait or the creation of a new artwork.

The new designs will launch on 5 September, and will be rolled out to all ArtReview products, including the ArtReview website, sister magazine ArtReview Asia which launched in May this year, and the ArtReview Bar in east London.