Working from a tiny first floor room in a Dickensian Soho townhouse, it was important that the magazine retain a sense of this ‘homespun’ energy, rather than becoming too slick, and alienating for its loyal readership (many of whom have been subscribers since the first issues).

Our changes have been subtle but significant. We’ve enhanced the use of cover illustrations (by long-term collaborator Chris Riddell) which we recognised as a key asset in conveying the personality of the publication. We were also meticulous in creating grid strictures and selecting new typographic styling.

Published monthly, with a modest production budget, one of the key requirements was that the new design work as a template, enabling the magazine’s editorial team (none of whom were trained designers) to produce future issues in-house.