Surface Magazine

The New Benchmark for Online Magazines

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Building An Innovative Publishing System

Magazines traditionally approach publishing with a print-first digital-later strategy.

King & Partners turned that methodology on its head and developed a content-first, medium-irrelevant strategy that applied to both the back end publishing system and website front end.

A content strategy for online and print

Surface is the preeminent publication for global design culture, so the website needed to reflect the magazine’s clean aesthetic sensibility and dynamic page layouts.

First, we looked at the way the Surface team published content to their print and digital publications.

Then, we came up with a solution that streamlined that entire publishing process.

We integrated several back end systems to build a suite of tools that connect all aspects of the magazine’s publishing business. The magazine uses this system to publish to both digital and print.

One template doesn't fit all

Surface publishes content of all shapes and sizes, so we designed unique layouts for each site section and content type.

Modular approach

Our content strategy is cognizant of the way readers today digest content.

We implemented a modular approach within the site CMS, letting the Surface team easily build new layouts for each article type.

In our business, it's easy to spot that special someone who has that 'thing'. You either got it or you don't! Whether its the creative, understanding the user, learning how we operate and building tools around us, or recommending a better process, King & Partners has that special 'thing.' Arguably more important, they are not scared to push and pull, and in this dynamically changing business landscape its important to have a team with strong convictions as a trusted partner.

Marc Lotenberg, CEO, Surface Magazine

Intuitive, linear navigation

Readers can simply keep scrolling to move fluidly into the next article.

Article pages are transformed into a never-ending story, encouraging readership and movement through beautiful design and a guided user experience.

Cultivating design culture

The new Surface website and publishing system positions the magazine as a leader in its field and a go-to source of knowledge for the design community.