Birmingham City University
Aspire Magazine Redesign
Aspire is Birmingham City University’s alumni magazine, distributed to graduates, staff, partners, and key stakeholders. This edition required a refreshed editorial design that aligned with the University’s updated brand identity while improving readability, structure, and visual consistency.
The brief was to modernise the publication without losing its credibility or sense of authority, ensuring it felt engaging for alumni while remaining appropriate for an academic institution.
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Led the editorial design and visual direction for the magazine.
Developed a new grid system to structure content across multiple article types.
Defined typographic hierarchy, spacing, and layout principles.
Designed feature spreads, news sections, and recurring templates for future issues.
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I introduced a flexible grid layout that could support a wide range of content formats, from long-form features to short news pieces, profiles, and image-led spreads. This created consistency while allowing creative variation across the publication.
Typography and spacing were refined to improve legibility, making the magazine easier and more enjoyable to read across different sections.
Photography and colour were used more deliberately to create stronger visual hierarchy, guide the reader through the narrative, and reinforce key moments within each spread.
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The redesigned magazine delivers a more contemporary, cohesive reading experience that feels professional, engaging, and visually confident.
The new structure provides greater clarity and consistency while remaining adaptable for future editions, giving the University a stronger editorial platform that better reflects its brand and ambitions.
