The new look July edition of Cumbria Life July hits the newsstands on Tuesday 25th June with a bold redesign, fresh new content, new columns, and more features and photography.
The redesigned magazine will offer ‘style with substance’ and aims to be a vibrant and contemporary guide to life in Cumbria without losing its core values centred around the Lake District’s beautiful landscape and heritage.
One of the standout features will be the fresh, modern covers with new logo and fonts to increase its prominence on the newsstands.
Matthew Ball, who did the redesign, said: “The challenge with newspapers and magazines is getting people to really stop and read them rather than just flicking through the pages. Cumbria Life was a fairly easy redesign to do because the quality of journalism and photography was already so good. We based the redesign around the photography, as well as using the photography differently to develop the new look, which is now bigger and better. The spreads are outstanding and wouldn’t be out of place in any major national magazine. Now, when you pick up a copy of the magazine, you want to come and live in Cumbria!”
Richard Eccles, Editor of Cumbria Life said: “We felt it was time to refresh the magazine and change perceptions about what a 'county life' magazine is about. We want to be essential reading and an essential guide for getting the most out of this amazing county and its unique combination of natural beauty and a vibrant contemporary culture of Michelin-starred restaurants and a thriving arts scene.
"Matthew Ball got it spot on for us and his reputation in the magazine industry speaks for itself. The challenge is to attract new younger readers while not putting off our traditional core, and from the first reactions to the new magazine, I think we have pulled it off."
Cumbria Life was first published as a quarterly in the 1980s and for most of its life was bi-monthly. It last received a facelift in 2008 when it went monthly under Eccles, the 46-year-old former deputy editor of The Cumberland News who has been with CN Group for 23 years. Since then, readership of the £3.80 magazine, which has 5,000 subscribers, has grown steadily to 60,000 a month, say the publishers.
The publishers aim to further build on this with some limited special offer subscription deals to mark the relaunch with savings of up to 45 per cent off the cover price each year.
The magazine was officially relaunched at a party in the heart of the Lakes, in Grasmere on Friday 21st July. Special guest speaker was Kevin Roberts (pictured), the worldwide chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi, who has a home in Grasmere and has featured in the magazine. He spoke of his love for Cumbria and said that Cumbria Life was the first thing he turned to whenever he arrives in Grasmere.
Two of the magazine’s most popular columnists, Dave ‘Hairy Bikers’ Myers and author and broadcaster, Stuart Maconie will continue to write regular columns each month.
