Sometimes the best design projects aren’t about creating a whole new look, but taking the best of an existing piece and making it work better. We had just such an opportunity recently when we redesigned the Pearl District Business Association’s (PDBA) map and member guide for their magazine, Explore the Pearl. This was not just a simple redesign though, as the main project goal was to make the directory easier to use for readers, so they can quickly find the information they are looking for.
Our solution was to re-group the listings into larger meta-categories and color-code the individual business listings by section. Those changes, combined with a more-legible-at-small-sizes typeface and some other design tricks we had up our sleeves, resulted in a new 6-page map and guide section that not only looks better, but works better, too. We also created new copy for the guide and titled it: Live it. Love it. Find it in the Pearl. You can pick-up a copy of the magazine in the kiosks around the district.
