☀︎ Summer 2024 ᝰ Visual Identity, Editorial ✐ Art Director, UI/UX Designer
34th Street Digital Rebrand
Identity, UI/UX, and Social Media @34th Street Magazine
Street’s current “2010 blog era” home page.
Problem
34th Street Magazine is a Philadelphia-based arts and culture magazine that produces a monthly print issue. It has an existing digital presence through its website and Instagram, but these channels are largely disorganized, busy, and dated. As Editor-in-Chief Natalia Castillo comments, Street’s online identity is still stuck in the “2010 blog era.”
Users are simply not engaging with the website outside of certain ‘viral’ articles.
Thus, key stakeholders at the company want a large-scale revamp of the brand’s digital presence from both a promotional-product and brand-identity angle.
How-Might-We StatementHow might we curate an authentic, modern, and editorial digital identity that
promotes audience engagement?
Solution (Web)
01. An ‘Infinite’ Scroll
Users will have a larger breadth of articles to view at first glance without having to navigate screens or use the search function. The length of the scroll encourages greater retention.
This also establishes a greater editorial presence for Street from the get-go.
02. Section Features and
Visual Hierarchy
Users can find and explore timely articles from specific sections with ease.
Standout feature articles and weekly newsletter lists are presented above the fold to encourage traffic to editors’ proudest works. Print p
03. Emphasis on Product
A special section is designated to each month’s issue, connecting Street’s digital product to its physical print product.
Users can explore this special issue in depth by navigating further to a new magazine page.
04. Brand Connection
This is a website that screams Street, featuring its iconic teal color, updated typeface combinations, uniquely developed icons, and spunky lingo. But that doesn’t mean that it’s overwhelming––the composition of these elements is clean, streamlined, and pleasing to the eye.
Users are able to make an immediate connection between the modern print product and the website.
05. On-Brand Donation
Promotion
Users receive a funny pop-up after every three visits to the website, as well as little nudges every few articles to check out different Street products or sections.
Web Process
01.
Stakeholder & User Interviews
key takeaways:
* doesnt look like our brand
we moved onto talking to actual users to confirm our hypothesis. We asked questions about their habits with watching TV and online shopping.
Key takeaways:
hard to find articles to read
short scroll, limited articles
no place for in-print articles
no subheads / specifications that draw interest
ugly visual design
super cluttered homepage with no white space and lots of ads
doesnt look like our. brand
primarily come with a viral article in mind or look at the feature. will glance at the scroll to see if anything pops out but not really use the section tabs. to find anything specific.
Stakeholder takeaways:
Editorial: g et more articles out there some never see the light of the home page
Business: doesn’t look like our brand, promote our products liek the magazine, newsletter, and donation events
02.
Competitor Analysis
show the diagram looking at other things and what we learned from them
03.
Design Iterations
show some pictures of old designs
Social Solution
01. Branded Template
Regular articles have a template style to them, cleaning up the feed while also maintaining some visual variation.
something about impact here
02. Special Editorial Posts
Special editorial sections like Ego of the Week and Overheards are presented differently and draw users in. Ego of the Week now includes an editorial photoshoot of the highlighted person, while Overheards has been converted to an editorial cartoon-series.
something about impact here
get more likes than normal
articles
03. Print Promotion
Bespoke promotional graphics are made to promote each print event, alongside launch parties and gatherings that draw outside interest.
something about impact here
Reflection
Learnings
Working with 34th Street Magazine taught me how to balance creativity with brand consistency while adapting to different thematic challenges. I developed a deeper understanding of how visual identity shapes audience perception and honed my ability to collaborate across teams under tight deadlines.
Future Directions
Looking ahead, I hope to see how Street’s distinct voice can be further amplified through experimental typography and interactive digital storytelling. Integrating audience feedback could also enhance the magazine’s impact and engagement in future issues.
Experience
Serving as Design Editor for 34th Street Magazine was one of the most rewarding roles I’ve had. Collaborating closely with writers and design staff, I learned the art of translating stories into visuals that resonate. Seeing our work come together in print every month was deeply fulfilling and reminded me of why I love design.
Beyond that, I’ve also made some of my closest friends working here. I’m beyond grateful for my co-editor Sophia, my deputies: Katrina, Insia, Anish, Janine, and Emmi, all fifteen design newbies, and my editor-in-chief Natalia.
Thanks for checking out my project! If you’d like to see the nitty gritty of my design process, please reach out to me! I’m always happy to chat.