ICT approached me to help rethink the design of its 2025 special issues, a series of digital magazines covering topics such as education, health, and tourism.

The challenge went beyond designing a single publication. ICT planned six to eight special issues over the year, each with its own subject matter, photography, and editorial needs. I needed to create a visual approach that would give each issue its own character while still making the series unmistakably part of the same publication.

A recurring publication needs consistency, but these weren't six versions of the same magazine.

I developed a flexible editorial system built around shared typography, hierarchy, grids, and recurring design elements rather than rigid page templates. That gave me a consistent foundation while allowing individual stories and entire issues to respond to their content.

The result was continuity without repetition.

Education, health and tourism don't naturally ask for the same visual treatment. Photography changes. Story lengths change. The balance between reporting, profiles, service information and data changes.

Instead of forcing that material into predetermined layouts, I used the system as a framework and art directed each issue around its particular editorial character. Page architecture, scale, image treatment and pacing could shift while the underlying visual language kept the publication connected to ICT.

Individual articles also needed room to behave differently.

I built layouts that could move between immersive photography, long-form reporting, interviews, shorter information-driven pieces and denser editorial pages. Strong opening spreads establish the personality of a story, while quieter interior pages prioritize reading and give longer pieces room to breathe.

That variation creates pacing across the publication rather than treating every spread as an isolated design exercise.

The real test of a publication system isn't whether one issue looks good. It's whether the next issue can feel new without starting over.

As the special-issue series developed, I could reuse its underlying design language while continually introducing new compositions and visual ideas. Recurring elements provide familiarity; changing layouts, imagery and editorial pacing keep individual issues distinct.

That balance allowed the visual identity to grow alongside the publication rather than becoming a template the editorial team eventually had to fight against.