Friends of Westonbirt Magazine

The Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum (FOWA) are a charity dedicated to helping run and fund Westonbirt Arboretum. They enjoy good support and have achieved an enormous amount for the Arboretum. Their quarterly magazine goes out to all their supporters and is one of the cornerstones of their communications. Oyster were engaged to help lift the design style, shape the copy and message and introduce a more interactive approach.

The solution

Oyster met with FOWA, enjoyed a trip around the Arboretum and met members of staff. We quickly got a feel for the energy, expertise and enthusiasm of the team, and with input from the marketing team we were able to fully explore the brief and get to work. We worked up a series of visual options and demonstrated how the copy, design and message could all work together. We set up an efficient working system, using page plans and our online management tool. We attend regular editorial meetings and manage content and layouts. We are now heading into magazine number four, which will give us a full calendar year and all the associated seasons – it's a lovely job!

The challenge

The magazine was very copy heavy and had quite a bit of advertising, much of which felt visually out of place. The magazine had been running for quite some time and FOWA wanted to lift the design to reflect a more modern and engaging style. Headlines and calls to action needed reviewing and the running order and structure needed an overhaul. FOWA also needed some support with the planning, layouts, pagination and editing / article writing of the magazine. Photography was a constant challenge and it was important that the magazine should communicate the incredible beauty and natural world of the Arboretum. The magazine needed to fully engage with supporters.

Friends of Westonbirt
Year 2018
Categories: 
Design, Creative, Brand.