The Magnum rebrand by North catches the brand up to its photographic and cultural acclaim

Since its founding in 1947, by photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson and Maria Eisner, the photographic cooperative Magnum Photos has long grown into an internationally renowned organisation, holding a distinctive pocket of the arts globally. The rebrand by London-based design studio North aims to reflect its growth and future with consistent and cohesive visuals that are more adaptable than before.

Initially the North design team, composed of Jeremy Coysten, Josef Clinch and Sean Perkins, were only called to carry out a visual audit of the Magnum brand, “a diagnosis,” Jeremy, partner and creative director at North tells us. During their findings, and in collaboration with the Magnum team and some of the photographers, they began building a brief to create an overhaul of the brand system. “We found that at a very basic level, the existing Magnum brand was inconsistently applied – distortions and edits of the logo, typefaces used interchangeably, multiple unnecessary sub-brand logos appearing,” he adds, “Magnum had moved forward and the brand needed to catch up”.

Opting to “do more with less” the team first recommended an evolution of the logo, of which the removal of the word ‘photos’ was paramount. “From a practical standpoint, it was very small in proportion to the black frame, often leaving it illegible, particularly on screen,” which limited the cooperative’s ability to develop a plethora of assets. “We also found that ‘photos’ was rarely used, either verbally or in-text. But more importantly it has evolved since its beginnings in 1947.” Also keen to remove its other limitations, the logo has been expanded to the borders of the frame, with part of both M’s being transparent, to represent the cooperative’s openness and transparency in recent years – while still being firmly planted in its founding principles.

All in all, the team wanted to reflect the complex and wide variety of images associated with the brand. From images of war and peace, to celebration and work across a variety of cultures and divides. “Everything is covered, and from dozens of, sometimes contradictory, perspectives,” Jeremy shares. For anyone familiar with Magnum, this variety is one of the greatest strengths of the brand, and something North set out to reflect. “These are very inspiring people that have independently and collectively produced an incredibly inspiring collection of work,” Jeremy adds. And now there is an identity that can be stamped on the works contributing to its long-lived acclaim.