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Australian Financial Publications is a financial media company
that produces, manages and delivers magazines, conferences,
forums, briefings and custom communications. Read the following case study to see how Six Black Pens helped to breathe new life into one of their products.
"We have placed our trust completely in Oli to give Australian Financial Publications the highest quality production and delivery standards possible within limited budgets in a very demanding environment."
Andrew Stabback,
Managing Director
Australian Financial Publications
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In November 2008, Australian Financial Publications (AFP) embarked on a project to overhaul its flagship magazine, Australian Banking and Finance. The publication had been acquired from another publisher, and although well recognised in the industry, it did not reflect the quality in editorial content or design that was seen in AFP’s other titles. It was decided that a redesign, combined with a fresh editorial direction would cement the publication’s position in the market, and make it a more contemporary title.
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Initially Six Black Pens conducted a thorough critique of the title, discussing with AFP what elements of the existing magazine were working, and could be incorporated into the new-look publication. It was decided that the large format was an integral part of the magazine’s identity, and as such was a necessity. The blue used in the old masthead, and throughout the pages was also considered to be very recognisable, and as such held brand equity.
From a design point of view, it was decided that the masthead itself was in desperate need of a revamp. The typography was cluttered and deemed old fashioned. This resulted in a weak ‘voice’ for the magazine, almost appearing unsure of what it was trying to say. Although the title of the magazine remains Australian Banking & Finance, most readers knew it by the simple acronym ‘AB and F’. The acronym was adopted, and combined with a plus symbol to replace the ‘and’. Combined with the new magazine display typeface, Fenice, this resulted in a much stronger masthead, with a more contemporary feel. The blue previously used was introduced in the plus symbol, and remains the default colour throughout the publication.
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The previous design for the magazine seemed to struggle with the large format, and tried to fill every inch of space – either by enlarging pictures, or by running huge pull quotes. The new approach aims to embrace the white space that the large pages create. As a consequence, many pages feature empty columns, which serve to allow some ‘breathing space’. They also create interesting spaces where images, pull quotes or captions can be run.
The magazine was given a much more clearly defined colour palette, with each tone representing a different banking sector. This results in a much more vivid look, and much better navigation.
The new design features much stronger typography. In a title where you do not always have the option to run large photographs, the different weights of Fenice make for some striking elements. These may appear as headlines, drop caps or to mark the entry points for pull quotes.
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In order to give the magazine the visual personality to go with it’s design, several new elements were introduced. An illustrator was commissioned for two new ‘regular’ spots – adding a sense of humour to some otherwise serious subject matter. A new page, aptly named ‘The Back Page’, was introduced to the back cover – a place where the editorial team have an opportunity to explore some of the quirkier news in the industry.
The new-look AB+F magazine is a much cleaner, authoritative, and contemporary title; one which Six Black Pens is now able to produce with better cost and time efficiencies – without losing any of the creativity.
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Once AB+F had a stronger, more flexible masthead, Six Black Pens went through the process of developing a range of print and online collateral which reflected the new style, extending across postcard handouts for conferences in Europe, development of the AB+F Annual Awards, and front-end branding for a number of websites and eDMs. The AB+F logotype is now an much more recognisable brand within the banking and finance sector.
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