Non-Profit Project
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Religion & Liberty – Rebrand & Magazine System Design
We helped Religion & Liberty magazine rebrand and develop a comprehensive system design for the Acton Institute’s quarterly publication. This six-month initiative focused on modernizing the magazine while establishing a flexible and cohesive framework to guide future issues.
This project began with a full evaluation of the magazine’s existing structure, visual language, and editorial needs. Through extensive planning, research, and collaboration with Acton’s editorial team, we identified opportunities to improve clarity, storytelling, and brand alignment while creating a system flexible enough to support a wide range of content.
The redesign process included an audit of past issues, editorial content analysis, typographic and grid exploration, and the development of a refreshed visual tone—spanning layout structure, photography and illustration direction, color refinement, and cover design. The result was a comprehensive editorial system built around forty distinct layout templates.
To support long-term consistency, a detailed design and layout toolkit was created, equipping the internal team with clear guidelines for typography, spacing, imagery, recurring features, and decision-making. The outcome delivered a magazine that feels contemporary, readable, and distinctly aligned with the Religion & Liberty vision—while significantly improving workflow efficiency for their editorial staff.
View the Design System Templates, created to streamline layouts and ensure a consistent visual narrative for future issues.
“It’s rare to come across someone as talented and easy to work with as Michael. We hired Michael to redesign one of our most important publications, Religion & Liberty. The project was incredibly difficult from the start as we didn’t have a clear picture of what we were looking for. Michael was extremely patient and methodical, working closely with us, so we could come up with a concrete plan of execution together. He took special care to understand the needs of the organization as well as the readers, so the final product would be ideal for all audiences. He created a polished publication that holds its own against mainstream magazines.”
Sarah Stanley
Managing Editor, Acton Institute
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Religion & Liberty (Acton Institute)
Non-Profit Think Tank -
Brand Identity & Magazine System Design
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+ Brand Advisor
+ Brand Indentity
+ Communication Design
+ Concept Development
+ Design Direction
+ Publication Design
+ Illustration & Photo Art Direction
+ Qualitative Research