Modern Elder Academy: A redesign that makes midlife something to aspire to
Texas Monthly
Readers call it “The National Magazine of Texas” for a reason. Founded in 1973 in Austin, and now beloved by readers across the globe, Texas Monthly covers the Lone Star State’s news, politics, culture, music, and — yes — barbecue.
We worked with Texas Monthly to channel the magazine's unique energy into a dynamic website as big and as bold as the state itself.
01Dynamic by Design
We set out to reinvigorate Texas Monthly’s digital strategy and bring its distinctive editorial voice to the web. Our guiding theme: take inspiration from Texas’s scale, diversity, and contradictions — think densely-packed cities surrounded by awe-inspiring rural space — and apply them visually.
This didn’t just mean a dramatic visual redesign: we also worked closely with Texas Monthly’s web editors to build sophisticated new tools to serve a wide range of article types and styles, take advantage of the rapid cadence of daily web publishing, and provide readers with the navigational structures that promote exploration and return visits.
Editors have complete control over the home page to curate on a story-by-story basis or use automated modules that pull articles by issues, category, or content types (like podcasts or videos). Article components are similarly flexible — toppers are designed to support multiple permutations of headline and art, and to scale up from inset photos to screen-wide videos.
Masthead
Monogram
Color
Icons & Indicators
Type
02A First-Class Mobile Experience
We also ensured that mobile users’ experience was second-to-none: that’s why we sweated the details when it came to art direction, typography, and navigational controls, all optimized for small screens. Stories, image galleries, and video all get touch-first controls, while sharing tools and wayfinding are never more than a tap away.
03Going Big with Events
Finally, the Texas Monthly team runs a wide variety of events, from music and BBQ festivals in Austin to wine tours in the Napa Valley. We overhauled the site’s events pages and built a system of flexible components for schedules, performers, FAQs, and more. We added one-click Eventbrite integrations so a user can easily register and buy tickets for different events.
