The Story
Every month, in my home town, a little A5 booklet would slip through my letterbox. If it was lucky enough to avoid the jaws of my Terrier, it would end up in my hands. The booklet was the local newspaper, the Bow & Arrow. With a population just under 2000 people, not a lot happened in the town of Bow, the newspaper was mainly comprised of half-page adverts for local businesses and the occasional article penned by a disgruntled pensioner concerning schedule changes for the bus that nobody rode.
Still, the publication always fascinated me. I would study its front cover and page layouts, they had a naive charm I guess. As I got older and gained more of an appreciation for design, I discovered that in actual fact, the newspaper had room for improvement. When a new issue would be delivered, I would study its front cover design, I found it inspiring. I always wondered if I might have done a better job.
I believe that innocent, ammeter publication taught me more about graphic design than any lecturer, book or course ever could.
In 2021 I returned to my home town for a few months. I took the opportunity to contact the people responsible for the Bow & Arrow Newspaper. I offered to rebrand the Bow & Arrow for a new generation. To keep the publication alive and hopefully inspire young people to correct and improve my designs too.
MY RE-DESIGN
BEFORE
Now, while I can of course appreciate the vibrancy of the covers before my redesign, the publication needed consistency. I wanted the covers to honour the history of the town so I suggested that a historical photo should be featured on the front cover of every issue.
