Toronto Life: Redesigning Canada's Largest Circulating City Magazine
Toronto Life is a monthly Canadian city magazine about entertainment, politics, food, and life in Toronto. It has a readership of 750,000 and publishes annual shopping and restaurant guides. I was hired as Art Director to bring sweeping visual changes to the magazine. The redesign increased Toronto Life’s newsstand/subscriber sales by 12.5%, increased its advertising sales by 22% and re-ignited interest in the publication which for 40 years has been one of the most influential and important journalistic magazines in Canada. Toronto Life was awarded "Magazine of the Year" from the National Magazine Awards during my tenure. I hired and lead a team of 5 full-time art/photo directors and oversaw day-to-day operations, including the creative direction of all photo shoots; issue art direction; brand extensions; website and annual guides. I managed the magazine’s monthly production from pre-press to printing, all well within operating budgets.
Consumer Newsstand
Relaunch
Rebrand
Redesign
Creative Direction
Art Direction
Design
General Interest
Magazine
Covers
New page grids, page design and a restructured pacing were introduced to distinguish content from ads, bringing more energy and a highly navigable reader experience.
Fun fact: This was not the first time I redesigned Toronto Life. The first was 10 years prior in partnership with Robert Priest, Bruce Mau and Derek Ungless with editors John MacFarlane and Gary Ross.
I worked with type designers Jim Parkinson (designer of Rolling Stone's logo) and Rod McDonald to redesign the magazine’s logo. Christian Schwartz and Rod McDonald designed custom display and text fonts to reflect the vibrant spirit of the city.
I've was delighted to watch Carol single-handedly redesign Toronto Life, invigorating its design with energy, elegance and wit. The redesign and her art direction of the magazine thereafter won her recognition with awards from the National Magazine Awards of Canada and The Advertising and Design Club of Canada." —Jane Francisco, Editor in Chief, Good Housekeeping
Having served as a visual judge for the National Magazine Awards of Canada, on several occasions I have selected Carol's work to be awarded for it's excellence and innovative style. — Roger Black, Roger Black Studio, Inc.
