Miau Magazine is a Portuguese magazine dedicated to Portuguese and Brazilian cat owners and enthusiasts. It focuses on diverse cat topics as well as brands, companies, and pet professionals from the national and international markets.
As passionate as we are for cats, we were excited to discover a national magazine specialized in these pets, and as a result, decided to redesign the second edition of the publication from 2018.
The result is bolder, colorful, and engaging and the cover is the first impression of this new approach. After several studies, we landed on a type and photographic cover combination that is contemporary and stands out from the shelf.
Layout & content
Some of the pages looked outdated in form and layout, so our main idea was to create a new layout that differentiated itself from the traditional-looking pet magazine and appealed to new audiences that tend to lead to lifestyle publications.
Starting with the table of contents, we reorganized the information into topics on one page and used visual clues to signal further subjects on the other.
Another example of a page that needed revision was the printed subscription form. Originally, it was intended to be cut out from the page and sent by mail. However, since the company offers online subscriptions and purchases, there was no need to maintain this content as it was. Instead, we changed the layout and created a new page that directed the readers' attention to the annual subscription on the official website.
Secondary elements
To support the updated look & feel of the magazine, we developed a new color palette with vivid and more saturated colors. Shades of yellow, pink, and blue were preferred to communicate warmth, love, and confidence, the main characteristics of the publication and its content.
Besides a new color swatch, hand-drawn custom elements were created to add more character and personality to the new identity. As a result, arrows and wavy lines accompanied text fields to break up negative space and the rigid format from the text columns. These elements also served as attention grabbers that point to relevant information.
Other than that, pages full of heavy information and imagery were transformed into infographics using custom illustrations. Therefore, the text is accompanied by visuals that add to the content and engage the reader throughout the subject.
