For all its cultural output, the North has remarkably few publications built to reflect the scale, ambition, and diversity of its creative economy. MagNorth exists to address that imbalance: a platform for the people, places, and stories that shape cultural life outside London.

The challenge was building an identity capable of carrying that breadth without collapsing into cliché. Northern visual culture is often reduced to nostalgia or industrial heritage. The aim here was something more contemporary: editorially confident, unmistakably Northern, and flexible enough to move between long-form journalism, social campaigns, advertising, and print.

Working with a distributed team of journalists, photographers, editors, and contributors, I developed both the visual identity and the platform that supports it. The website is entirely CMS-driven, allowing an editorial team to publish features, manage campaigns, and commission content without relying on developers or touching a line of code.

Commercial sustainability was considered from the outset rather than bolted on later. Audience growth tools, newsletter integration, and advertising placements are built directly into the system, giving the publication a practical foundation alongside its editorial ambitions.

The identity extended beyond the platform itself. The Write for the North campaign introduced a more tactile layer to the visual language, drawing on the material qualities of print production and adapting them across posters, social assets, and editorial promotions while remaining rooted in the wider system.