'Consumer Reports' Revives

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Sept 1, 2003 by Maryjane Fahey

Byline: Critique by Maryjane Fahey, partner, FaheyO'Connor

MAG STATS

CONSUMER REPORTS

COMPANY: Consumers Union

PRESIDENT AND CEO: James Guest

EDITOR: Margot Slade

DESIGN DIRECTOR: Todd Albertson

MISSION: To enable readers to access key information more easily, and in a more appealing format.

In the "Editor's Letter" of July's Consumer Reports, Jim Guest, president, expresses his continued appreciation for the design of London's Underground map. He convincingly relates that the design, 70 years later, is still a sensible, easy-to-read, appealing presentation.

The very same thing can be said for the redesign of Consumer Reports, minus the longevity. It is very sensible. It's "okay" to look at, but in terms of design, I see it as a missed opportunity. It's more appealing, but it is not exceptional and it sends the wrong message graphically.

It is, however, editorially an outstanding redesign: very reader friendly, very service oriented, with lots of new interesting departments and devices. Kudos to the editorial group for every move made here. The expanded "Upfront" section makes sense, all shifts in charts and chart presentation are smart and make the book even easier to navigate. The new departments are actually fun (the opportunity to see products in their infancy versus final stage) and very logical. But the design is flat - it's an improvement, absolutely, but flat, and completely lacking the authority that Consumer Reports should convey.

TYPOGRAPHY & GRAPHICS

I have a problem with the lower case used for slugs throughout this magazine. It says teen magazine to me, not Consumer Reports. Typographically, I do not understand the change from Interstate to the generic new headline font on covers and features. However, to give credit where credit is due, there is an improvement in the layout of every page, department, and chart presentation - charts in particular. But there is a prevailing tired, generic look. The palette is much too candy-colored and should have been stripped down to convey a more serious, more authoritative tone. There is an odd mix of five-years-ago trendy devices on sidebar slugs and headers that, once again, say teen or pop magazine to me - not authoritative expert analysis.

FRONT- AND BACK-OF-BOOK

Expanding the front of book section, "Upfront," was a good idea as it orients the reader to a real beginning and helps work into the bigger, more analytical pieces. The overall grid system is much improved throughout the magazine. The back of book is on a four-column grid now, which easily identifies these focused product analysis pieces from larger essays.

SUMMARY

An improvement, yes, and the editorial tweaking is great. The missed opportunity for me was in the craftsmanship of the design: the typography, the color palette, and the distinct messages they were (not) sending. The architecture throughout this redesign is an improvement, but I would have loved to have gotten a sense of the history and authority of Consumer Reports, which continues to be a very respected brand. Consumer Reports should not be overdesigned, and it should not be cute or trendy in any way. What it deserves is a design as smart, reflective, and concise as its editorial content.