New Work: ‘The Advocate’

Luke Hayman and his team have redesigned The Advocate, the landmark gay and lesbian biweekly newsmagazine. The redesign coincides with the magazine’s 40th anniversary and the arrival of a new editor in chief, Anne Stockwell. It also reflects the broader changes in the LGBT community that the magazine serves.

Over the past four decades, The Advocate has established a trust with its readers. Its tone has always been authentic and accessible even as a generational shift in the gay and lesbian community has changed the personal priorities of its readership. The magazine was founded during the LGBT struggle for recognition in the late 60s, witnessed a period of liberation in the 70s and then reported from the frontlines of the AIDS epidemic in the 80s and early 90s.

Today gays and lesbians are no longer an ignored minority, and the younger generations have experienced a saturation of media both from and about the community. Activism, while still important, is less in the mix, and issues like gay marriage, medicine and civil rights have shifted to the mainstream press. At the same time, the circulation of newsweeklies is changing as news and information is more readily available online.

The magazine’s redesign reflects these transformations. The new Advocate is modern and vibrant while continuing to confront politics and difficult LGBT issues. Impressively, it manages to successfully straddle the line between opinion leader and entertainment magazine without losing its journalistic integrity and with a tone that is sophisticated, but not frivolous.

“To some extent, the magazine’s mission and audience has changed over the years, so the design needed to follow suit,” says Hayman. “The new design has a flexibility and boldness that can accommodate both serious issues and a celebration of the community.”

Taking into consideration the magazine’s limited budget for original photography, the redesign makes the most of striking graphics reinforced by bold typography and a strong grid. Hayman chose the fonts Champion Gothic, Mercury Text and Bau to give the magazine a fresh, contemporary feel. Graphic icons and pull quotes are highlighted through the use of color.

As part of the redesign, Hayman and his team restructured and expanded certain departments, while others were renamed in collaboration with the magazine’s editorial staff, including “Forward,” the expanded front section of short articles; “Spectator,” the restructured arts and entertainment section with interviews and music, book, movie and television reviews; and “Fast Lane,” the renamed travel, leisure and product section. An individual table of contents appears at the top of each section, creating a clearly defined architecture and easier reader navigation.

Hayman and his team worked on the redesign of TIME Magazine earlier this year.

Project team: Luke Hayman, Shigeto Akiyama.