Uni Nova.
Redesign of the science magazine.

Uni Nova is the magazine of the University of Basel and one of the largest academic magazines in Switzerland. It is primarily aimed at alumni, but is also available on the university's premises and thus reaches a broad readership. The magazine presents the diversity of research at the University of Basel and explores current topics relating to various sciences.

Suan completely overhauled the editorial design of Uni Nova. The aim of the redesign was to make the magazine’s appearance more modern, inviting and lively, without losing sight of the University of Basel’s corporate design guidelines. The new design appears more generous and elegant, with lively details that give readers a feeling of closeness and accessibility as soon as they enter the magazine. The magazine is published twice a year, and we implement the design for each issue, including the concept development for the imagery. Together with the university team, we create a lively and elegant platform for the diverse stories of the University of Basel.

Design concept and imagery
A central element of each issue is the dossier in the middle section of the magazine, which is always illustrated with a series of images in a visual world specially developed for the issue. This imagery reflects the respective main theme, which also characterizes the cover of the magazine. Each issue is dedicated to a broad topic, on which various articles from different areas of the university are brought together. This thematic diversity is reflected not only in the content, but also in the design. For the “Complete Lies!” issue, for example, we deliberately worked with Midjourney to create the image series, while for “Bright and Dark” we use renderings in black and white, which are made three-dimensional primarily through light and shadow. In this way, we present each issue with a unique visual world that visually underlines the thematic focus.

The magazine's sections include brief news, research, book presentations, the dossier, fact checks, alumni reports, interviews and the album, which presents reports with impressive photos. In the album in particular, we have optimized the design so that it is more reminiscent of a photo album: with images of different sizes that are arranged dynamically, space is created for more visual variety. These detailed improvements help to bring the magazine's stories even closer to the reader.

Clear and inviting reader guidance
To make the magazine appear less stiff and more editorial, the columns have been made more dynamic: They vary in width and thus offer a varied reading experience. Particularly noteworthy are the overhanging initials at the beginning of the text, which immediately catch the eye, and the red dot as a heading that indicates the dossier and is visible from the outside of the section. This dot clearly distinguishes the dossier from the other chapters and provides intuitive reader guidance. The new layout also makes it easier to access the other sections.

Another design feature is the use of the color mint in the alumni section, the main color of the university, but in a lighter shade. It serves as a background color and provides an aesthetic distinction for this section, while the text is designed in a very dark shade of mint to ensure a good contrast.

With our redesign, we have succeeded in creating a magazine that communicates the university's research and activities in an appealing and approachable way, while at the same time respecting the tradition and CI of the University of Basel. All issues can also be read as PDF files in the University of Basel magazine directory, also in English.

Magazine directory