In the tough industry of print publications, keeping things fresh is imperrative to the brand's success. The NME is one of the biggest music publications in the UK, still bringing out a new issue every week decades after rivals such as Melody Maker and Sounds were killed off. This week saw the announcement of a new look and a complete redesign of the magazine - both in content and appearance.
"You could call the changes to NME a redesign but we prefer to think of it as a reinvention," says editor Mike Williams. "And in the spirit of reinvention, only one artist could grace this week’s cover: David Bowie"
NME was last redesigned in 2010 under art director Joe Frost and former editor Krissi Murison. This year's offering was implemented under by art director Mark Neil under new editor Mike Williams.
The magazine's logo has been through a number of redesigns but it was the past that proved most inspirational for Neil. He explains that he ‘looked back to go forward’, unarchiving the work of NME art director Barney Bubbles from the late 70s - ‘who created the initial NME mast stencil.’
The main display font for the new logo is Sharp Sans, a sans-serif font by Lucas Sharp, and a redrawn version of this has been used in the main identity. Inside, a sans-serif Calibre by Kris Sowersby and a serif font Tiempos Text have been used across copy.
The cover's new look is complimented with new heavyweight paper plus a new, more compact page size. Inside, familiar sections have been improved and expanded, and new features have been added throughout, with an 'indie-zine' feel.
Find out more about the redesign over on NME.
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