Designer of the Year: Craig Bowyer
Agency: Redactive
Client: The Royal Town Planning Institute
Award: Designer of the Year, 2023 - Gold
Brief
The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has more than 27,000 members in 88 countries. Its monthly magazine The Planner was launched by Redactive in 2013, and since 2014 its creative evolution has been driven by Craig Bowyer – one of the agency’s lead designers. The title has always been well received, a 2021 readership survey finding that 85 per cent of recipients viewed The Planner as a key benefit of RTPI membership and four in five saying The Planner is the only professional title they read.
Nevertheless, this same survey also saw two-thirds of members calling for the magazine’s return to print after the predominantly digital delivery necessitated by the pandemic. With many displaying strong attachment to this crucial membership benefit.
To ensure The Planner continued to meet the needs of the RTPI and its members – and with compelling economic and environmental grounds for evolving the publishing model – a new strategy was agreed. Reducing the frequency of the print publication to bimonthly to achieve cost savings while supporting RTPI’s journey to net zero Increasing the pagination by 16 pages and printing on a heavier, uncoated paper stock to give a more prestigious look and feel Utilising the extra time between publication dates to innovate The Planner’s online channels The RTPI wanted something very different from its magazine’s previous incarnation, which was designed to be functional first and foremost. The new Planner would represent a statement of a renewed contract between the Institute and its members. A top-quality communication from a modern, aware Institute that truly values the profession it serves.
Such a dramatic shift to the character of The Planner – plus a greater emphasis on digital output – gave the opportunity to rethink the magazine, its content and the way that content was packaged.
A longer period between issues meant the way news was presented had to change
The change in format and pagination gave more space to create visual impact and improve the balance between images and text
There was scope to introduce entirely new sections
Craig was absolutely integral to this process. Not just in coming up with ideas, but also in synthesising other people's suggestions as he sat at the centre of a design process with multiple stakeholders from client and agency trying to shape it.
Craig’s brief was to create a new brand identity, logo, cover style, section blueprints, font mix – the whole shebang. Balancing the overall magazine structure, look and feel with excellent attention to detail. Including a suite of digital identities for The Planner website and social media channels. At all times garnering approval from the RTPI and Redactive. All over a single summer.
His editorial colleagues describe Craig as “totally brilliant to work with – constantly good humoured and open to ideas”. And the stunning transformation that you will see in the supporting evidence is all the more notable given Craig’s remit at Redactive. At the same time as spearheading The Planner relaunch, overseeing a team of three other designers and their portfolio of titles.
Solution
Craig’s starting point for The Planner relaunch was a new visual identity that would futureproof the media brand. Devising a suite of logos to bring consistency across all channels.
A striking change has been bolder cross-platform branding through the creation of a stylised Planner ‘P’ device applied to magazine, website, newsletter and social media. Craig explains:
“We wanted a look that was more modern and had greater authority. For the magazine, the giant ‘P’ still retains ‘The Planner’ title inside the stem, but it really allows the imagery to ‘shout’ because you’ve no longer got the top third of the cover taken up by the masthead.” As a favicon, the ‘P’ is perfect for The Planner’s reinvigorated social media activity too. Immediately recognisable on its new Linkedin company page and YouTube channel”.
Magazine front covers are carefully considered, making use of aesthetically powerful imagery to ‘wow’ readers. This could be a stunning portrait of the issue’s key interviewee. Or a bespoke illustration. But no photographer or artist will be given the freedom to take an idea and ‘run with it’. They will work to a detailed brief written by Craig, and most likely his sketch or mock up. And because the behind-the-scenes stories of The Planner’s front covers are as captivating as the end results, they have become a regular feature in a new Planner Online newsletter. Drawing readers into the processes that go into creating their magazine.
But The Planner is a magazine with more than just one cover. The increase in pagination allows for stronger departmental demarcation between the editorial sections. Each benefiting from its own introductory page. A five-fold challenge for Craig every issue. A brilliant aid for a time poor audience looking to find the most relevant reads. Such intelligent, innovative signposting is characteristic of Craig’s design. All sections benefit from colour coding – and more. The up-front news ‘Analysis’ section incorporates a top panel highlighting key stats and takeaways, and is punctuated with infographics in eye-catching block colour panels. And the four editorial strands that follow – ‘Opinion’, ‘Features, Policy & Practice, and finally the RTPI’s dedicated ‘Institute’ pages – are all represented by symbols. Artfully integrated into their introductory page image and running down from the top of right-hand editorial pages.
For features, Craig prefers to open with a double page spread incorporating just a headline, introduction and image. They have to be striking, they have to reflect the content, they have to sing. And the way he handles these is superb – every one is like a poster.
As well as being stylish and impactful, Craig’s designs retain the playfulness that's become a hallmark of The Planner over the years. With a lot of subtle humour and little nods to other cultural products, such as films and books, that remember professional audiences appreciate being entertained too. And Craig’s approach is particularly mindful of the magazine’s role as a poster site – using CTAs and QR codes that catch the eye without compromising the overall look and feel.
Results
The Planner’s first bi-monthly edition landed in September 2022 following an all-channels awareness campaign delivered through The Planner and the RTPI.
The impact was immediate, with readers taking to social media to express their thoughts. The magazine’s team has been blown away by some of the feedback from RTPI members, whether that’s in-person at industry events, in the numbers of people now wanting to write for the title, on social media or in reader testimonials:
“Love it. Got mine through the door this morning and haven’t been this excited to read it for a long time! 🙂 Great work!”
“It looks absolutely incredible! I might be considering framing it…”
“Website is superb – clean yet comprehensive. Congrats.”
“Cannot overstate how excited I am about this. Keeping it under my (mostly metaphorical) hat has been a real challenge!”
“Got my copy this morning. Truly impressive. Great articles. My weekend read sorted”
Since the relaunch The Planner’s profile has also risen with potential commercial partners and event sponsors. It has attracted a major piece of work with a planning tech provider; sponsorship of website content (including a ‘homepage takeover’ that would not have been possible before); and increased sponsorship from the biggest legal firm in the sector for a campaign reception event. A podcast sponsorship is in the offing.
While the results are testament to a highly collaborative team effort – Craig working hand in hand with editor Martin Read – to deliver the final product, it cannot be understated how much the stunning new design of The Planner has influenced this reception.
RTPI is proud of what its magazine has achieved, and feels that the Institute now has a secure platform from which to expand its reach, influence and connections with the sector and the wider world.
In January this year, Simon Creer, Director of Communications for RTPI, said:
“Having just finished a comprehensive relaunch of our member magazine and website, The Planner, I have been really impressed with the way Redactive worked alongside the Institute, collaborating at every level. The team’s in-depth knowledge of trade publications and their ability to bring experience from elsewhere in the business was amazingly helpful. The relaunch itself went off without a hitch and the members are genuinely pleased with the new suite of products.”