WorkGraphic Design

She Was Only gives century-old film magazine a facelift

Print magazines about TV and movies are sadly closing left, right and centre at the moment, SciFi Now was the latest casualty in August. But that only makes it more impressive that Boxoffice Pro, a magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business, is still going strong, 100 years after its launch.

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Collage of historic Boxoffice magazine covers spanning decades, featuring classic black and white film stills and typography on bold red backgrounds

To celebrate this fact, London consultancy She Was Only has given the title a redesign, to make it more modern, and visually impactful.

In publication since 1920, Boxoffice Pro is the official publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners. Called NATO for short (yes, they got there first!), the magazine is distributed to over 90 per cent of North American movie theatres.

She Was Only's redesign is inspired by the graphic history of the magazine, mainly the classic covers from the 100-year archive while transforming it into something new. A more visual approach to storytelling has been introduced, along with bolder use of photography and film stills.

More specifically, a flexible 12-column grid allows for more diverse layouts and a greater mix of sidebars, infographics and pull quotes. Typography has also been updated, based around Tiempos Text by Klim for body text, Gilroy by Radomir Tinkov for captioning, and Flyer LT for Titling.

The aim with the cover, meanwhile, was to create a flexible format that was impactful, increased brand awareness, but also didn't compete with the magazine's paid cover take-overs.

Boxoffice Pro magazine cover redesign featuring red cinema seats illuminated against a black background with "Intermission" as the cover story
Boxoffice Pro magazine redesigned by She Was Only, showing contents page with bold photography of people exercising against a red background
Selection of Boxoffice Pro magazine covers redesigned by She Was Only, displaying bold red backgrounds with diverse imagery including film stills and typography
Boxoffice Pro magazine redesign showing an open spread with bold typography reading "The Next Big Thing" on a black background with colourful photograph details
Three redesigned Boxoffice Pro magazine covers featuring Theatre, On Screen and Industry topics displayed against a red background
Open spread of Boxoffice Pro magazine showing a woman standing by a fire against a dark background with "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" headline and article text
Double-page spread from redesigned Boxoffice Pro magazine showing "The Sounds of Silence" feature with a dramatic film still of actors in a car interior against a red background
Boxoffice Pro magazine cover featuring a solider running with a child against a battlefield backdrop, with "Race Against Time" text overlay on a red background
Open magazine spread showing "What the Dickens!" headline on left page and photograph of man in dark suit standing by ornate fence on right page against red background
Open spreads from Boxoffice Pro magazine showing redesigned layout with large photograph, body text in columns, pull quotes in magenta, and film stills on red background
Redesigned Boxoffice Pro magazine cover featuring a vintage military aircraft on fire above a naval ship, with bold text reading "Skies Over the Pacific
Two-page spread from Boxoffice Pro magazine's redesign showing article text, a large photograph of people gathered around a table in a field, and smaller images including a portrait through a window and an outdoor group scene
Boxoffice Pro magazine redesigned by She Was Only, showing an open spread with a cinema audience watching a large screen on the left page and article text with data visualisation on the right page
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