About Watford
Three editions of the council’s flagship magazine, designed to make an institution feel like a neighbour.
About Watford is the Borough Council’s flagship resident publication — the primary printed channel through which the council communicates with the people it serves. It needed to feel like something worth reading, not something worth recycling.
Over three editions, the brief evolved from establishing a visual identity for the publication to developing a mature editorial design system that could be maintained and built upon. Each edition raised the bar.
Public sector publications carry a particular challenge: they must be accessible to everyone, communicate clearly about complex topics, represent the council with authority, and still feel warm enough that a resident wants to read them at the kitchen table rather than drop them in the recycling.
Most council communications fail at the last part. They prioritise information over experience. They design for compliance rather than connection. The result is that the people who most need to receive the information are least likely to engage with it.
An institution that talks like a person earns the trust that authority alone never could.
Each edition built on the last. The first established the visual language. The second refined it. The third demonstrated that the system was strong enough to serve diverse content — news, community stories, council services, local features — without losing coherence.
The interior layout system needed to handle news-led content, community photography, service information and long-form features within the same visual framework. Clean hierarchy, accessible typography, generous use of real resident photography over stock.
The visual language was deliberately warm — warmer than most local authority publications dare to be. Real photography of real Watford people. A typographic hierarchy that guides rather than instructs. Colour used to signal, not decorate.
The magazine needed to sit comfortably alongside publications residents choose to buy. If it felt like a civic duty to read rather than a genuine pleasure, we had failed at the brief.
Public sector work demands a discipline that commercial projects rarely require. The audience is not self-selecting. You cannot assume interest or prior knowledge. You must earn attention with every page turn from a reader who did not choose to engage with you.
Three editions of About Watford taught me more about accessible, human communication than most paid creative work. The constraints made the thinking sharper.