Word, the
independent music title launched by David Hepworth and Mark Ellen, has
been redesigned and renamed The Word, something the pair claim they
have been “itching to do” for more than a year.
According to
creative director Hepworth, adding the definite article to the title
made it “seem a more complete entity”, while reflecting the fact that
many readers were already calling it The Word.
The magazine also
has a new title font, “hand-chiselled” by art director Keith Drummond,
a reshuffle in the front sections and a move towards more reportage,
starting with a feature this month on the New Orleans disaster.
The
title, which was launched inJanuary 2003, posted a year-on-year sales
increase of 11 per cent in August’s ABC figures, to 33,376.
Hepworth,
who also launched Q, Mojo, Empire and Heat while working at Emap, said:
“Probably the majority of readers called it The Word anyway, and
[renaming] it also gave our art director the opportunity to design the
magazine in a way that made it more flexible.
“These things get super-analysed by the press but probably pass by the average reader.”
In
his subscribers’ letter this month, Hepworth tells readers: “This is
not a change of name – merely a recognition of the fact that for a lot
of readers it always has been ‘The Word’.”
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