The Walrus “re-engineered”

Former Toronto Life editor John Macfarlane took over as editor and co-publisher of The Walrus last summer and now, as MastheadOnline reports, the upcoming March/April issue will be the first issue that fully bears his stamp.

Art director Brian Morgan, who returned to the Walrus soon after Macfarlane took over, also had a big hand in the mag’s changes.

Some of the changes include a new (but not drastically so) logo, which allows for a skybar to promote stories, new fonts and a distinct three-part architecture for content.

Macfarlane also notes changes to the way stories and issues will be developed. He told Masthead:

“I’m a great believer that magazines should be connected to the zeitgeist—there should be a connection between the magazine and the moment it’s read. To make that happen you have to be a lot more deliberate about the way you commission… The mixes I think will improve. The stories will have more moment. And I hope the consequence is that when you see a story, you’ll know why that story is there at this moment in time.”

Macfarlane also said he’ll likely remain at the Walrus for awhile longer, despite the original announcement that he would come on only as temporary interim editor and co-publisher. He said:

“I made no secret of the fact that when I came here, I didn’t know what to expect. I did it out of a sense of obligation to the idea of The Walrus… I felt that this was something I should do and to my great delight, quickly discovered that I enjoyed doing it. So if we are successful in what we are setting out to do here, I could see myself being here for a while. Three years? Five years? Who knows?”