Onset Mag case study.
The brief.
The problem. A film-craft magazine for cinematographers and production designers — niche, technical, gorgeous subject matter — trapped in a layout that prioritised text density over the work it was covering.
The solution. A new grid that lets full-bleed film stills breathe, a numerical issue-marker system on every cover, and a long-form essay layout designed to be read on flights without strain.
The process.
Three phases. No hand-waving. Here is how the work actually got made.
Discover
Deep-dive sessions, audience research, and a clear-eyed audit of what was working and what was not.
Concept
Multiple directions explored in parallel - typography, palette, mark variations - then narrowed to one.
Build
Production-grade systems, asset libraries, and the toolkit the in-house team uses every day after launch.
What happened.
Numbers from inside the first months of the relaunch. Not vanity - actual business outcomes.