Tabu
Redesign

When it comes to publishing, details make the difference

Tabu was launched in 2002 by the press group Academia Catavencu. The magazine was positioned as a publication aiming at daring women, original, nonconformist without being aggressively feminist. This kind of positioning proved to be a successful one, and gained it a steady public. In the spring of 2004, the management of the publication decided to have it facelifted and appointed Re:ply for this job.

In order to meet the client’s objectives (an increase in audience and an improvement of the advertising in the magazine), the Re:ply team proposed a restructuring of the magazine that would change the flat plan so that both the advertisers’ and the readers’ expectations could be reached.

The graphic and editorial consultancy services provided by Re:ply mainly looked at providing a better defined support of the magazine concept and its title “Tabu”. At the content level, the magazine’s approach had proved to be a successful one that lead to it having a steady audience, but Re:ply also identified the need to support the identity and personality of the publication at a graphic level.

Re:ply designers also :

• simplified the chromatic range by eliminating the solid, harsh colors (specific to male-centric magazines) and by using a new pastel range of colors, specific to women’s magazines
• implemented a set of graphic identity elements contributing to turning an aggressive aspect into a more feminine, calmer and friendly one
• highlighted the sections of the magazine that used to be treated homogenously
• created an efficient navigation system to facilitate reading