strategy@theascend.net

Editorial direction for publications, reports and brochures

Client
Multiple
Design
Internal & External
Expertise
Editorial Direction, Layout Review
Year
2015 - 2023
Editorials Case Study VisualsBanner 1 copy
Editorials Case Study VisualsBanner 1 copy
Editorials Case Study VisualsBanner 1 copy

Context

When organisations commission a brochure, booklet, magazine, or report, the real need is rarely more pages. The need is clearer communication. The work has to help a guest understand the offer, a donor understand the impact, or a reader move through the story without friction. This page collects editorial and publication direction across tourism, hospitality, education, and magazine work.

Scope: editorial strategy; narrative framing; copy direction; layout review; publication delivery coordination.

Challenge

  • Present different subjects, from hospitality venues and travel experiences to education support and institutional storytelling, without losing clarity.
  • Turn dense information into publications people can follow without working too hard.
  • Keep tone, hierarchy, and layout consistent across long-form materials.
  • Make reports, brochures, booklets, and magazine pages feel useful, not merely designed.

Approach

  • Defined the communication job behind each piece, whether to sell an experience, explain an offer, present an institution, or improve a publication.
  • Structured content around audience priorities so the message became clearer and easier to follow.
  • Directed tone, sequencing, and editorial hierarchy to support the reader’s decision-making process.
  • Reviewed or built layouts for readability, visual storytelling, and practical information flow.

Visuals I

Hospitality and tourism publications that package experiences more clearly and make offers easier to understand, promote, and trust.

Visuals:

  • Planet Lodges Activities Booklet;
  • Rivertrees Country Inn Venues Packages 2023;
  • Tanzania Tour Guide Awards 2016 Booklets

Visuals II

Education and impact-led publications that translate programmes, needs, and outcomes into warmer, more structured donor and community communication.

Visuals:

  • IRD Matters February 2019;
  • Boarding at St Jude’s: Home for Future Leaders;
  • Buses at St Jude’s: Buckle Up for a Life-Changing Journey;
  • St Jude’s Ripple Effect;
  • Teaching at St Jude’s: Those Who Can, Do!

Alan understood our communications work quickly and became a strong part of the team. He brought clear thinking, good design sense, and a steady way of working that helped us deliver stronger materials across the organisation.

Communications Manager
The School of St Jude

During a major rebrand, Alan took briefs and turned them into finished materials that went beyond what we first expected. He worked well across the team, used design and photography with care, and delivered strong assets for the new brand.

Communications & Fundraising Officer
The School of St Jude

He has a strong eye for design and knows how to turn a brand into a clear finished document. The final piece was one of the best I had seen. The layout was clean, and the infographic work made the statistics easier to understand.

Supporter Relations Assistant
The School of St Jude

Visuals III

Magazine storytelling built for repeat readership, stronger editorial flow, and a publication identity that can carry different stories without losing coherence.

Visuals:

  • The Adventures & Leisure Magazine October-November 2015;
  • The Adventures & Leisure Magazine January-February 2016;
  • The Adventures & Leisure Magazine August-September 2017;
  • The Adventures & Leisure Magazine December-January 2017

Outcome

  • Tourism and hospitality offers were packaged into clearer editorial assets that supported promotion, bookings, and audience understanding.
  • Education and impact stories were translated into structured publications that felt more credible, persuasive, and accessible.
  • Magazine and editorial assets gained clearer sequencing and stronger reader flow.
  • Reports, brochures, booklets, and editorial pages became easier to read, review, and use.

Email me if your report, brochure, profile, or publication needs a senior editorial review: strategy@theascend.net.