Cassone: The International Online Magazine of Art and Art Books has launched. With international contributors to the magazine, Cassone aims to cover a wide variety of art and art-based topics in a straightforward, jargon-free language. Each monthly issue will present content across categories including: Perspectives, Featured Reviews, Interviews, Arts & Artists, Around the Galleries, Architecture & Design, Photography & Media.
Wonder were commissioned by Sue Ward (Editor) and Frances Follin (Production Director) to create the Cassone brand and to strategically plan, design and develop (programme) the new website which features a subscription-based login model, advertising and sponsorship opportunities and a plethora of live (and archived) content.
“When we decided to launch Cassone: The International Online Magazine of Art and Art Books, we knew from the outset that we had to have a really great website. Art lovers would expect our site to be aesthetically highly pleasing and not ‘techy’ as well as easy to read and navigate around. Wonder Associates were recommended to us by contacts who knew their work for Manchester Art Gallery and the Henry Moore Foundation. Wonder got on top of the brief very quickly, and within a few months we went from ideas on a piece of paper to a working website that is beautiful and exciting to look at and easy to navigate through. Most importantly for a text-heavy site, it is a joy to read – Georgia typeface, which was designed for online reading, has been used throughout so we know our readers will be able to spend time reading Cassone without getting eyestrain! We plan to be the first place people look for information on art and the many books published about it each year, as well as exhibitions and places of art-related interest. The new website that Wonder have created for us makes that dream possible.” Frances Follin, Production Director, Cassone
Wonder’s Creative Director, Rob Fowler, commented, “We have delivered a timeless yet contemporary approach. The logo itself makes use of serif typeface, Georgia, with a set of graphic devices that allude to the turning of a page and a stack of magazines to represent the digital manifestation of this new online resource.”
A unique illustrative palette has been created for Cassone. Used as iconography across this online magazine, it visually labels the visitor’s journey through a multiply effect – the colours overlap, forming new colours, allowing Cassone’s brand personality to shine through. For a completely online magazine - content is very much king, and Wonder have created a site design that enhances the articles rather than getting in the way of them. It echoes tried and tested models of online newspapers and magazines, making use of a 12-column grid and horizontal navigation.
Cassone is built and powered by MIYO (Make It Your Own), Wonder’s Content Management System, developed specifically to meet the needs of organisations in arts, culture and leisure. It is made to be intuitive for the administrators as well as dynamic for visitors in both function and form (for more information visit www.miyocms.com).
Being a subscription-based website, signing up and renewing subscriptions is made simple for online visitors using PayPal Express, a secure method of online payment. The site employs a voucher system, allowing different levels of subscription, for example, reduced charge for students and gift subscription to purchase for colleagues, friends and family.
Online advertising and sponsorship opportunities provide additional revenue to support the success of Cassone. The inaugural issue includes advertising from Tate Publishing, Association of Art Historians and The Antiques Collectors’ Club. Advertising and sponsorship are tracked by MIYO, recording page impressions and click through rates to demonstrate a return on investment.
Cassone is a flagship project in Wonder’s digital portfolio as a sector-specific example that solely trades online and demonstrates Wonder’s continued digital focus for clients in arts, culture and leisure.
Media credit: By permission of The Caversham Press
