descubrir
descubrir is a quarterly independent British travel and adventure magazine. This magazine creates escapism through an exploration of achievable city destinations in Britain
Inspired by a year spent in Madrid, the title comes from a Spanish word meaning ‘to discover’ which is exactly what it aims to do. Whilst moving throughout Britain, the first four issues will capture Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool and London socially, architecturally and artistically through compelling first person accounts about adventures, hotels, bars, coffee shops, restaurants, cultural spots, exhibitions and boutique independent shops. All combined with striking photography and drawings to build up aspirational stories about the most unique and alternative places, hence inspiring the reader to avert from the current tainted, crusty perceptions of Britain and discover our country.
descubrir is a radical departure from those in the mainstream as it is independent, influenced by their refined and minimalist designs. By withholding from the mainstream’s preference of a close-up image of a popular spot in the city, but still focusing on a recognisable symbol, the Clifton suspension bridge, this alludes to descubrir’s aim to expand the reader’s vision of British cities in a different way.
Likewise, the blue, transparent triangles do not pervade or intrude the design, they add character, give the cover a different dimension and this is the inspiration that descubrir follows when choosing editorial content. Here the ‘i’ of the title descubrir carries ‘meaning’ as by making this letter bigger and substituting the dot for a world, the information sign has been recreated, showing how this magazine will educate the reader about Britain and become a recognisable logo for the magazine. Thus, the magazine feels good in your hands; the design is clear, simple and speaks for itself like the places displayed inside.
Next, with young adults being the most active holiday makers, descubrir is aimed at young professionals, aged 23 to 35, interested in contemporary UK culture with a disposable income to enjoy city breaks at the weekend away from the monotony of a 9V5 job (ABTA, 2014). They have had their gap year and now want to explore their own country. They still have an adventurous side, want to go to nice bars and coffee shops where this magazine will be stocked, but couldn’t find a magazine that talked about places in Britain that were away from the beaten track.
With the striking blue fade colour scheme, this not only adheres to the gender neutrality of the magazine, but creates a sense of adventure that will appeal to the reader. With different shades of blue from the river Avon spanning off into all directions there is a sense of mystery, of something undiscovered on the front cover that the readers are looking to find in Britain. As well, the Facebook, Instagram and Twitter symbols will appeal to technology aware readers alluding to how they will know about descubrir; through its online presence, by visiting these social media platforms, typing in #descubrir and by being sold at a number of online stockists including Stack and Newsstand.
Given the readers’ income, a higher cost price of £8.50 is reasonable allowing descubrir to have limited adverts. Thus advertising will be very minimal, only in the middle of the magazine, so the reader does not have to work out where the editorial is. Targeted advertisers will be fans contributing advertisements that support the magazine by relating specifically to places within Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool or London, such as Camp and Furnace in Liverpool. This will raise awareness and inspire readers further to come to these cities, whilst not deterring from the individuality and independence of the magazine itself.
Finally, the aim of descubrir’s digital strategy is to create a sense of community with its readers. The website does this in a number of ways; with an ‘About us’ section to reveal what it means to be independent, a subscription page, a journal section entitled ‘Stories to inspire from Britain’ inviting readers to write reviews, upload photos or share their own adventurous experiences which can be uploaded onto the website. Together with a social section linked to our Instagram featuring extra photos not included in the magazine and beautiful, daily images of Britain from a phone camera.
Hence, Instagram will become an interactive, community hub by housing competitions. The back of the magazine features part of a beautiful photograph and by the fourth issue readers will have the full photograph. Those that take the most creative photos will win a descubrir subscription. The Facebook page will feature ‘independent restaurant, shop or hotel of the week’ consisting of longer articles, appealing to the older end of the target market. Here viewers can interact, share and comment. There will also be a Twitter page for descubrir and the editors, where readers can contact us directly, extending our relationship with them. Lastly, there will be a monthly e-letter for subscribers, which will talk about the process involved in making the next issue and people we have met, accompanied by beautiful behind the scenes photos.