BMJ Journals were preparing for a significant expansion of their journals portfolio and needed a more coherent visual identity to support it. As the portfolio had grown over time, individual journals had drifted into their own cover styles, which when seen together felt disjointed and didn’t really sit comfortably within the wider brand. They approached me to help bring it all together.
The brief was to create a shared visual system that could work across the whole portfolio, something that would make future journal launches quicker and more consistent, without every new title needing to be designed from scratch. The tricky part was making sure that in doing that, each journal still felt like its own thing rather than just a carbon copy of everything else.
The result is a design framework that ties the key elements across the portfolio together, giving it a coherent presence across both print and digital, and making future launches a whole lot quicker to get off the ground.
Examples of previous journal covers
Breakdown of cover elements
The framework needed to work across a pretty wide range of journals, from established clinical specialties to newer, emerging fields. On top of that it had to handle practical things like varying title lengths and the occasional partner logo, so that every cover felt consistent without anything feeling forced or compromised.
01. Two line title
Setting journal titles across two lines gives each cover a stronger visual presence and makes it a lot easier to handle titles of different lengths. Longer titles have room to breathe, and shorter ones don’t end up feeling lost in the layout.
02. Imagery & pattern overlay
Each cover features a monotone image in the journal’s own colour. This replaced a previous approach where covers used a mix of photography, illustration or pure type, which added to the inconsistency across the portfolio. The team are involved in selecting imagery for each title, giving each journal a sense of ownership.
The diamond pattern is derived from the mirrored angles of the BMJ Group fulcrum. Applying this brand device across every cover acts as a fresh visual thread that ties the whole portfolio together, whilst keeping it firmly rooted in the brand.
03. Flexible
The logo space follows the same angle as the fulcrum and can extend to include partner logos where needed. As the fulcrum was originally derived from the angle of the BMJ lettering, it made sense to always anchor it alongside the angled edge.
The diamond pattern can be stripped back for smaller formats like social media profile images or favicons, where fine detail tends to get lost. This keeps the visual system recognisable and cohesive even at the smallest sizes.
Alongside the covers, I reviewed how print and digital marketing materials were being used across the portfolio. A recurring issue was copy length, with headlines and supporting text often running too long, which diluted the visual impact of the layouts. I worked with the team to tighten this up, making the case for a more considered approach to copy that let the design do more of the heavy lifting.
From there I rolled out a full suite of print and digital ads using the new visual system, putting the framework into practice across the wider portfolio.