Re:Making Maker Media
Client: Maker Media
Brand: MAKE
OVERVIEW
Branding is a passion of mine. Understanding its brand promise, mission, what makes it unique and target audience, helps me create consistent experiences that build strong relationships with its community. While at MAKE, I got this opportunity. I developed a creative and brand strategy that sought to consolidate the components of the MAKE by O'Reilly under a unified brand, Maker Media. Below are samples that I created illustrating how the brand would express itself going forward via; Event, eComm, Online, App, Video & Traditional Print.
CREDITS
Sean DallasKidd, Creative Director
Katie Wilson, Designer
Gerry Arington, Production Designer
Sam Murphy, Photo Editor
Mark Frauenfelder, Editor-in-Chief
Shawn Connally, Director of Digital Media
Gareth Branwyn, Online EIC
Dale Dougherty, Founder
WEBSITE // IDAddicts.com
MAKE // WEBSITE REDESIGN
DESIGN NOTE
The goal of the redesign for the site was to appeal to the nature of the user. Personalization is key. This posed an interesting design challenge and resulted in a very cool solution. MAKE "owned" the content in the feature section, and the user owned the rest. After creating a profile, they could prioritize the type of content they got, based off of their interests; green technology, woodworking etc. This approach to design also allowed for the opportunity to target ads one the site that could be placed in relevant interest streams.
MAKE // MAGAZINE REDESIGN
DESIGN NOTE
MAKE magazine is a quarterly DIY technology project based publication. Projects in the magazine range from old-school balsa wood and tissue-paper airplanes to building autonomous robots from junk. MAKE has a devoted audience of tech-savvy, DIY enthusiasts who are shaping the future with their innovative projects and ideas.
MAKE // ILLUSTRATION LANGUAGE REDESIGN
DESIGN NOTE
Staff illustrations that add a human face to stories and celebratizing the editorial staff.
Illustrations by: Kathryn Rathke
DESIGN NOTE
At the time Infographics was a new term. Looking at the genre of data visualization and the type of information we wanted to pass along to readers, investing in this approach was a no-brainer.
Illustration by: Oliver Munday
DESIGN NOTE
Spot illustrations became a great way to introduce "special sections" that we looked to theme, more and more.
Illustration by: Juan Leguizamon
DESIGN NOTE
For more complex projects, technical illustrations were perfect for communicating builds and lowering the bar to entry for readers. Settling on a clean yet approachable style helped all the elements exist in harmony.
Illustration by: Timmy Kucnda
MAKE // DIGITAL APPROACH
DESIGN NOTE
The approach to the digital edition was to offer something different and note just a digital version of the magazine. Since MAKE revolves around projects, the idea was to leverage content created on MakeProjects.com and offer them in a format that can be easily followed at your workbench, for free. This approach would allow "new issues" to hit readers more regularly and reinforce the brand. Additionally, it would bridge a the gap developing between print subscribers and the online community
DESIGN NOTE
When it comes to content, MAKE is a prolific creator. However, that content needed to be given purpose. The result? After we defined the 'Why'– we went from a magazine and website that 'Makes nice videos' to a media company the 'has a great network of shows' and experiment with new platforms... we were even live streaming before that was a thing.