Graphic Design That Works

America has become hooked on yoga as a relaxation technique, but this centuries-old exercise is just as much about

control, balance, and energy as it is about winding down. True to its subject,

Yoga Journal

combines these funda-

mentals to create a soothing yet fluent design.

In fact, the magazine strives for a reading experience that mirrors the topic it covers. “We want to create the feeling

of walking into a yoga studio,” says art director Jonathan Wieder. “The look must be one of calm and serenity, but

we don’t want it to be soporific. There has to be a balance between calmness and energy.”

WHY IT WORKS:

Handsome, understated layouts and a palette of nature-inspired colors create a serene setting and build a strong,

continuous flow analogous to yoga positions themselves. The artists let photographs carry the design, clearly prov-

ing their understanding of the magazine’s most valuable design asset: the gorgeous human form.

Yoga Journal

Yoga Instruction for the Body and Spirit

Job:12-84823 Title:RP-Graphic Design That Works (MDW)

175# Dtp:163/120 Page:124

Text (DS)

far left The human body forms elegant frames for

Yoga Journal’s

covers. Among fitness magazines prom-

ising perfect bodies with blaring colors and cover lines,

Yoga Journal

maintains the serenity of its subject.

left The font used for the word

yoga

in the maga-

zine’s flag resembles the graceful curves of the body in

a yoga position. The logo is a distinct part of the maga-

zine’s brand.

124-129 84823 10/12/05 3:25 PM Page 124

DW)

e:124

Job:12-84823 Title:RP-Graphic Design That Works (MDW)

175# Dtp:163/120 Page:125

Text (DS)

The magazine has had quite a history. First quite liter-

ally a journal for yoga teachers and school owners, it

quickly became a special-interest magazine for new-

age interests, covering everything from war and

poverty to life after death. Yoga itself was the main

focus when the magazine started in 1975, but few peo-

ple were practicing in the United States then, so it

moved quickly to the back burner.

With the practice’s resurgence in recent years,

Yoga

Journal

needed to reinvent itself, so it relaunched in

2000 as a yoga-only magazine and let the technique

regain center stage. Articles are instructional, dis-

cussing how to succeed at different poses, but also

cover benefits and related topics—health, spirituality,

and the like.

Who’s the reader? “She’s me,” says editor in chief

Kathryn Arnold. The magazine’s readership is 80 per-

cent female, Arnold says, and is, on average, 47 years

old. Readers generally have high income levels, travel

a lot, and are sophisticated, which means they have an

eye for fine design.

However, readers vary widely in their connection to

and familiarity with yoga. Readership is growing by

leaps and bounds and ranges from long-time yoga

practitioners who see it as a way of life to people who

have just started taking classes at the gym. Therefore,

the magazine’s redesign had to appeal to a broad audi-

ence, attracting them to the pages with a look that was

familiar, accessible, and attractive.

More people are turning to yoga as a physical exercise

rather than a spiritual or meditative one, too, now that

magazines and health professionals advocate it as

therapy for pain, back problems, and overall flexibility

and fitness. So layouts focus more on the physical act

of yoga—performing and improving poses—and ad-

dress their potential effects on specific physical prob-

lems. Illustrations of people in yoga poses are used in

more issues-oriented articles as well as instructional

ones, creating an ongoing challenge for artists to keep

each page looking new and interesting.

A Yoga-Focused Magazine

left Some departments

are framed with a softly

colored border, which sets

them apart from other

sections and gives them

their own personality.

left Yoga poses are not

always shown straight-

forwardly. Yoga-focused

features, such as this one

about yoga and health,

are accompanied by

artistic, emotional photo-

graphs that showcase the

beauty of positions.

125

124-129 84823 10/12/05 3:25 PM Page 125