Account
The Viva editorial teamViva Magazine Volume One
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2020
Submission # 67
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Output
Publication – Pukapuka
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Kaupapa
Identity – People & Culture
Identity – Place
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Location
Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau
Project Overview:
Launched during a challenging period for media in Aotearoa in August 2020, Viva Magazine Volume One cut through the anxiety of the time with a clear and sharp focus on identity today.
Springing from the roots of weekly newsprint magazine Viva, Viva Magazine Volume One invited a wider audience into the realm of what the Viva brand is and has been pioneering for the last two decades - quality lifestyle journalism with editorial integrity, offering true influence and engagement, representing and reflecting the diversity of Aotearoa.
In the midst of the global pandemic, here in New Zealand we sought comfort in our own homes. Viva Magazine Volume One responded to this new sense of home with stories from our own backyard.
The magazine's overarching exploration of identity included features by award-winning writer Emma Espiner around what identity means to us now in Aotearoa; food from chefs who use and support our local makers and produce suppliers; fashion that addressed society's changing attitudes to how we shop and what we're buying.
The magazine was supported by Viva’s wider digital and social platforms, its contributors and creatives, supporters and partnering brands. The magazine gained momentum from this support, enabling Viva Magazine to become a permanent part of the magazine landscape in New Zealand.
A celebration of Aotearoa now and what we wanted it to be in the future, offering a sense of calm amidst the noise, the magazine was both editorially compelling and commercially successful.
Kaupapa:
Viva Magazine Volume One was intended to appropriate our established understanding of high-end fashion magazines, while knowingly and humorously subverting the genre to establish a new norm.
While presenting the customary pillars of food, fashion, and design, Viva Magazine Volume One wove a new thread into the story of Aotearoa as it is now, seeking to capture a new sense of our national identity.
Its theme: a focus on identity in the face of adversity.
Cover star Manahou Mackay (photographed by rising talent Hōhua Ropate Kurene,) embodied this concept as a creative woman of colour and transgender advocate.
This was a theme extended through the publication; from food, celebrating local producers, to the main feature introducing 10 young Black creatives changing the narrative of what it means to be Black in Aotearoa – the unique experiences fueling their pride and creativity.
The magazine introduced a sense of fluidity not often found in this genre – though presenting vintage against new, local with international, and gender-fluid dressing, we demonstrated that what we wear is an accumulation of discovering our true selves - particularly though print, colour and creativity.
Offering a unique sense of calm and space, Viva Magazine Volume One highlighted indigenous and local brands, vintage retailers, and local producers while providing a platform for POC creatives - voices underrepresented within mainstream media.
Response:
The design response was a harmonious balance of the soothing and the surprising, bringing through Viva’s newsprint heritage to a new and progressive gloss magazine design.
Launched in a time of crisis, the cover sported an optimistic yellow, supported by a muted design palette and contemporary type. A black border created the illusion of a three-dimensional image – especially impactful across Viva’s digital and social platforms.
Vintage and second-hand items are simply not found on the covers of our local New Zealand fashion magazines, yet on the cover of this magazine, a Kate Sylvester blazer worn with vintage accessories introduced Viva’s fashion mantra to new readers – uplifting, sustainable, locally made.
Extending through the pages of the magazine, Viva Magazine’s weekly font was harnessed to visually connect its loyal reader with this new offering.
Viva prides itself on being a career launchpad for fresh stars; hosting photographer Hōhua Ropate Kurene’s first-ever magazine cover shoot on our launch cover was an important step for us in conveying our continued commitment to providing a platform for emerging talent and POC creatives.
The response from readers was immediate, passionate, and sustaining;
““I love the bold colours, I love the diversity in your models, I loved the fashion, I loved the quality of journalism, I love the foodie articles, I loved the layout and photography.
There is something quite unique and special about this magazine that sets it apart from other magazines I choose to read.”
Archiver’s Response:
"The philosophy of the magazine is brilliantly express through every detail of the content and layout. Viva is tastefully contributing to the contemporary and mixed voice of Aotearoa."
"Employs current, contemporary, engaging and diverse aesthetics. Engaging content and insight."
Credits & Collaborators: Editor - Amanda Linnell Creative Director - Dan Ahwa Art Director - Imogen Temm Blank - Johanna Thornton Business Director - Margaret Hawker
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