David Lammy rebrands Britain for the latest issue of Shortlist

Earlier this month it was announced that weekly men’s magazine Shortlist was set to fold after 12 years of print publishing. The team have evidently decided to go out on a high, with this week’s cover being one of the most memorable of its entire run.

David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham since 2000, adorns the front page but this isn’t your standard political PR puff-piece where a junior minister mumbles a pre-prepared quip on whatever it is that they think will get “the youth” on side. Instead, Shortlist tasked David with rethinking Britain’s national brand, asking what it is we want to be known for around the world.

Kevin Fay, art director at Shortlist, tells us that the genesis of the feature came from the magazine’s editorial team. “Editor Joe Mackertich, deputy editor Dan Masoliver and executive editor Jordan Waller had been throwing around the idea of a ‘Rebrand Britain’ issue for a while so when the opportunity to interview and shoot Mr Lammy came up, he seemed the perfect person to front the issue,” Kevin says. “I suggested we could shoot him in front of some billboard style posters, and we came up with the slogans in conjunction with David and his team. With Tom Barnes on board to shoot for us, photography director Gemma Roberts also enlisted the help of set designer Bryony Edwards and her team to create the scene, whilst I designed the posters.”

The result is a bold photo shoot — backed with bold graphic design — that lays out David Lammy’s positive vision of the future. It is also, Kevin says, the exact kind of cover that the Shortlist staff will look back on with real pride. He notes that in recent years its decided to reject “buy-in shots or bland press shots” in favour of a bespoke approach. If a potential cover star doesn’t have time for a “colourful shoot and interview”, they don’t get the cover.

“This has enabled us to define what a ShortList cover means, the majority have been colourful and upbeat to grab people’s attention on their often dreary and tiring commute, the subject we’re shooting should look interested and happy to be on our cover.”

We’re huge fans of the cover here at It’s Nice That and Kevin is sure that David is equally into it, telling us that the MP has “asked for copies for his friends and family.”

The issue is available now, and you can also read the illuminating feature with David online right here.