TheOldie.co.uk | Website UX/UI
Converting Oldies to Newbies
Creating a younger, techno-savvy sister for one of the UK’s oldest and most reverred publications.
‘The Oldie: Buy it before you snuff it,’ says it all. The Oldie is not a magazine about retirement. It’s free-thinking and funny, giving readers a light-hearted alternative to a press obsessed by youth and celebrity. The Oldie has been regarded as a haven for grumpy old men and women, crammed with witty and intelligent mockeries of modern culture. In truth, the magazine isn’t an age-specific publication; it has many readers in their twenties, thirties, and forties. And, at a time when print has been told to snuff it, this print-based publication boasts a circulation of over 45,000.
THE BRIEF
Taking print to digital.
The brief was to redesign and build a new website that would ensure a fresh new look, that would utilise content to entice readers, and ultimately encourage them to subscribe to the printed publication. Prior to this, The Oldie had no real online presence, so the biggest challenge was crafting a design that authentically reflected the magazine’s spirit, while on a practical level being a fully CMS website. It was crucial that the site was able to host a huge amount of multimedia contents, including articles, illustrations, podcasts, a tour and event booking system, and an eCommerce shop.
THE DESIGN
Finding offline inspiration
The Oldie barely has a style guide. Aside from the logo, and typeface, the brand didn’t have any formal consistency in guidelines. So, in developing the website’s art direction, inspiration was taken from magazine’s witty style and utilised the brand’s rich bank of illustrations.
THE OUTCOME
Classic and cohesive
Confidence and timelessness is at the heart of The Oldie’s brand. This isn’t the type of publication to rip up a design and start over every six months – its website would need to maintain long-term appeal. I translated this printed magazine into a delightful digital product, with the capacity to be attention-grabbing, simple to navigate and with content that is easy to consume. The result is a classic website with a cohesive visual language.
THE RESULTS
228%
increase in monthly user sessions
84%
user approval rating
