How Muse created a monster publication
The branding process that spawned an innovation.
The branding process that spawned an innovation.
Muse used some bizarre tactics to develop this brand. It helped to have a mad, creative team who enjoyed breaking the rules - this enabled us to identify with the image we were striving for, and the result went a long way to getting the public's attention.
Freq Magazine (pronounced "freak") was borne from the word, frequency. After several brain-storming sessions, it was actually one of our graphic designers that threw the word into the mix and it stuck. The original magazine was destined to become a specialist mobile audio publication until the publishing company realised that to attract more readers meant tapping into a wider audience. Issue 2 saw Muse carving a more refined image centred around lifestyle technology.
Once the name was locked down, the rest of the branding became more creatively accessible. 4Shades developed a definitive logo that would be identified well beyond the confines of Cyprus, especially after negotiating a tremendous opportunity to circulate the publication with Politis Newspaper. Politis is Cyprus' second largest newspaper and had the right demographic mix of readers the Freq publishers were targeting.
4Shades story-boarded, designed, and printed every issue of this popular dual-language publication. Andrew Tzionis, Founder of Muse, was also brought in as English Editor from the 2nd issue. Muse utilised most of its staff compliment to meet tight publishing deadlines. The magazine had a healthy audience of over 25.000 people each issue.
For online exposure, Muse was commissioned to design two dynamic websites for the magazine and a dynamic Flash website for the publishing company, including all SEO (search engine optimisation) and additional link-building. These were incorporated with a bespoke CRM system developed by Muse to keep track of advertisers, leads, and promotions.
Muse was also heavily involved in the planning of the Freq Sound-Off event that heralded the launch of the publication. Billboards, media advertisements, leaflets, posters, A3 calendars, stationery, promotional material, email promotions, multimedia presentations, radio advertisements, event livery - were all commissioned to Muse.
It was a thrilling and tremendous project to work on, and it exemplified the capabilities of our creative and programming teams.
Freq Magazine (pronounced "freak") was borne from the word, frequency. After several brain-storming sessions, it was actually one of our graphic designers that threw the word into the mix and it stuck. The original magazine was destined to become a specialist mobile audio publication until the publishing company realised that to attract more readers meant tapping into a wider audience. Issue 2 saw Muse carving a more refined image centred around lifestyle technology.
Once the name was locked down, the rest of the branding became more creatively accessible. 4Shades developed a definitive logo that would be identified well beyond the confines of Cyprus, especially after negotiating a tremendous opportunity to circulate the publication with Politis Newspaper. Politis is Cyprus' second largest newspaper and had the right demographic mix of readers the Freq publishers were targeting.
4Shades story-boarded, designed, and printed every issue of this popular dual-language publication. Andrew Tzionis, Founder of Muse, was also brought in as English Editor from the 2nd issue. Muse utilised most of its staff compliment to meet tight publishing deadlines. The magazine had a healthy audience of over 25.000 people each issue.
For online exposure, Muse was commissioned to design two dynamic websites for the magazine and a dynamic Flash website for the publishing company, including all SEO (search engine optimisation) and additional link-building. These were incorporated with a bespoke CRM system developed by Muse to keep track of advertisers, leads, and promotions.
Muse was also heavily involved in the planning of the Freq Sound-Off event that heralded the launch of the publication. Billboards, media advertisements, leaflets, posters, A3 calendars, stationery, promotional material, email promotions, multimedia presentations, radio advertisements, event livery - were all commissioned to Muse.
It was a thrilling and tremendous project to work on, and it exemplified the capabilities of our creative and programming teams.
