CALMzine, the magazine from the male suicide prevention charity, has been redesigned and it looks brilliant

“Design can change the world,” “design can change your life” etc. etc. are common soundbites at creative conferences or nestled smugly on book covers. So common in fact, that they can become diluted and lose all meaning. But when a great cause and truly brilliant design are united, it really is a powerful thing. Such is the case with the redesigned magazine for male suicide prevention charity Calm, an acronym of “campaign against living miserably.”

The redesign project was led by our very own It’s Nice That art director Jamie McIntyre and Bruce Usher, who worked with CALMzine designer Silvina De Vita and editor Kevin Braddock on the project. The beauty of the quarterly mag is that rather than being explicitly about mental health or suicide, it addresses pertinent issues frankly, and in a way that’s never patronising or mawkish. This is compounded by the sterling commissioning, which has seen illustrators including Paul Layzell, Tim Lahan, Gordon Armstrong and Rami Niemi grace the pages, alongside artist Eric Yahnker.

Giving the mag the feel of a zine, rather than a charity publication, New York-based illustrator and art director Bráulio Amado created a bespoke masthead and headlines throughout, in his signature bold, wild and decidedly chirpy style. But while this innovative approach to design might be unexpected on a mag about mental health, and issued by a charity, it’s not the most unusual find. That lies at the supple feet of drum and bass dentistry innovator Goldie. Shot by Neil Bedford, the cover introduces a feature where he explains how he found “salvation in yoga.” Who knew.