National Magazine is the Canadian Bar Association’s flagship publication that goes out to over 30,000 lawyers, judges, notaries and legal professionals across the country.

Studio Helm were brought on to elevate the overall design, and give the publication a more contemporary feel and intuitive layout. This started with the information hierarchy, rationalising the primary typefaces and differentiating the bilingual text through colour coding. Working closely with National’s in-house team, the magazine content was divided into three main sections, with Helm devising a new signposting system (shown below) for individual pages and sections, allowing readers to more easily orientate themselves and navigate through the publication.

In addition to the layout changes, Helm put great importance on the role of photography and illustration. Working closely with a trusted network of talented collaborators throughout North America and internationally, they have brought a more interesting and visually engaging style which perfectly compliments the quality of the article content.

The result is a more dynamic and relevant publication that has been received extremely positively both internally and amongst the CBA’s member base.