The Dial is an award-winning online magazine of culture, politics and ideas, with a focus on locally-sourced writing from around the world. They publish investigative journalism from on-the-ground reporters, essays and criticism, and the best fiction and poetry beyond the Anglosphere. The original publication was founded in 1840 with a mission to create a “journal in a new spirit”. Over the course of the following century, the magazine reinvented itself several times, and in 2023, the current iteration was born.
The new Dial builds upon its rich literary history, but with a 21st century eye toward reporting and international dialogue. The identity, website, and editorial design system ground the magazine in its print origins — drawing from the visual language of historical periodicals and early modernist magazines — while giving it the flexibility and energy a contemporary digital publication demands.
The brand’s foundational ivory was sampled directly from historical scans of The Dial. Cormorant Garamond is the heart of the typography system with its classical literary weight for headlines. Helvetica Neue brings clarity and, with its extensive language support, accommodates the magazine’s international roster of contributors and frequent bilingual pieces.
The 1920s edition was one of the first magazines to integrate artwork alongside its literary contributions, so each piece in the new publication had to be paired with a single, strong visual companion. Imagery runs from custom illustrations in the new, irreverent house style to classic editorial photography depending on what a piece demands. Each illustration is rendered simply with natural brushstrokes that hearken to the delicate linework of artists featured in the original magazine — e.e. cummings, Egon Schiele, William Gropper — and uses a single flat, spot color for graphic impact. Dividing lines, decorative ornaments, subtle animations, and interactive details throughout lend the site a tactile, editorial quality.
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