TE AWA MAGAZINE - Green Party
Rebooting a pride in print in the digital age, for the Green Party magazine
An important project in my time in the Green Party Marketing and Comms committee was refreshing the look and feel of Te Awa, the membership magazine, driven by an ambitious new editor and my own passion for craft.
I brought in designer Charis Robinson, whose (self-professed) love for the art of publication design was the perfect fit. Between us we worked on redesigning the magazine from the ground up, emphasising visual appeal, as well as great use of grids and negative space, and a flexible system of typography to differentiate different sections and types of article.
Many argue about the validity of a print edition for an organisation like the Greens. But analytics and anecdote both showed the digital version had erratic engagement, and how so many members still valued having a tangible copy. In a world where our lives are so much through a screen, having a physical magazine is still a great way to connect with an audience.
After the refresh, I continued for 4 years as art director, interfacing between editorial and design teams and navigating changes in suppliers and editors.
Championing a visual approach and better imagery from the contributors, and bringing in illustration on some of the trickier articles where photography was unavailable or inappropriate, was an important factor in maintaining the visual character of the magazine.
It was also gratifying designing the inside-back-cover advertising for the Green Party merch (see more about that here) and curating advertorials from the Greens’ key merch partners, Wellington’s extremely ethical Little Yellow Bird clothing and Peoples Coffee.
Roles Creative direction / Art direction
Agency/Client Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
Year 2018-2022
Designers Charis Robinson, Dan Matthews
lllustration Beth Xia