The main challenge here was to create a strong identity for Exé in order for the magazine to stand out among the numerous architecture publications on the market.
I chose a visual identity and layout confronting ‘the old and the new’, modernity and the Arts and Crafts, a movement I admire for its roundness, fluidity and daring. Architecture is made to last so one can often see, especially in Europe, buildings from different eras coexist happily in the same street or district - a combination I wished to express in the magazine. I therefore designed a variety of patterns inspired of the Arts and Crafts movement for the covers with bright colors, while the photo came in black and white on the background: the ‘old’ in overwhelming colors, the ‘new’ in grey. The same goes for typography : I chose the Caslon Classic (Bold Italic) for the logotype of Exé and the section titles, a font as round as the cover patterns, and the Interstate for the text, a more contemporary and minimalist font.
The difficulty was to then apply this visual identity to the interior layout and still keep it minimalistic, using the general idea of the cover without creating a tacky presence of patterns and/or bright colors. The best way to do so was to keep using only two colors - the one on the cover and black - and to use curves and slopes recalling the main pattern on the cover.