DE CORRESPONDENT / MOMKAI

De Correspondent is an online journalism platform that enables members to contribute to content, and one that reports on stories that would otherwise slip under the radar of mainstream media; because they do not conform to what is normally understood to be ‘news.’ We launched on September 2013, after raising a total of 1.7 million dollars, a world record in journalism crowd funding. This news platform now has more than 32.000 paying members.

 

As founding partner Momkai was involved from the start, creating the brand and design language. The logo

expresses The Correspondent’s core values; of independence, conversation leadership, quality journalism and subjectivity. The logo is based on the handwriting of lead designer Harald Dunnink. It was constructed using Chinese ink on paper, reminiscent of the painted logotypes of yesteryear. Afterwards it was vectorised for use across a wide variety of applications.

In addition to the logotype, a stand-alone emblem was developed consisting of the letter ‘C’. This can be used as a logo variant, increasing the flexibility of the branding on alternate and appropriate media, such as an app icon, making brand recognition even more instantaneous.

 

A strong colourset embodies a new digital-only approach in the world of journalism. Aqua, salmon and various pastel colours contribute to an original look and feel that stands out from other news sources.

Another distinctive building block of the identity is the portrait set of the correspondents which can be combined in a wide variety of ways and add a handcrafted feel; something not commonly found online. The visual identity has grown into a very elaborate piece of work; spanning promotional media like flyers, stationery and banners, to online content such as infographics, editorial illustrations and interface design.

 

The design of De Correspondent is fully responsive. Favourite Correspondents can be followed via a handy

sidebar. The Correspondents themselves each have their own page consisting of their published stories. Next to the website we have built our very own editor called Respondens, a new kind of CMS allowing correspondents to truly function as conversation leaders. Designed to fit the needs of storytellers, making it easy for authors to control story streams, create layouts, extract knowledge from their audience, and work with the editorial staff.