Canadian Publishing Industry News
19 February 2015,     TORONTO
Canada's History celebrates 95 years, undergoes redesign
Canada's History readers will notice a few changes when they pick up the latest issue, slated to hit newsstands on March 23. Editor-in-chief Mark Collin Reid explains,
 
 
In 2015, Canada’s History — formerly The Beaver magazine — will mark its ninety-fifth birthday. As Canada’s second-oldest magazine, we’re proud of our past, but also focused on the future.

For more than a year, the editorial team, led by art director James Gillespie, has worked on a refreshed design that places Canada’s History squarely in the spectrum of twenty-first-century publishing. It was truly a team effort, with special thanks going out to design consultant Karen Simpson for her advice and encouragement.

Our new look, which debuts with our April-May 2015 issue, features new fonts and font sizes that improve readability.

Both the front and back of book sections have been streamlined. The Currents section is now more visually dynamic, and some regularly recurring items — such as "Brush Strokes" — have been re-imagined for a modern audience. Our former Reviews Section is now titled Books, and will feature not only book reviews but also interviews with authors, book excerpts and other items of interest to readers.
 
 
 

The features section also received a makeover, and now employs a tasteful design that showcases — rather than competes with — the words, pictures and paintings. Layouts are cleaner thanks to the creative use of white space.

As many readers know, Canada's History used to be called The Beaver, and we have not forgotten our historic connection to that iconic publication, or the Hudson's Bay Company, which launched the magazine in 1920 as an internal newsletter. In Canada's History you will find many nods to our past; we’ve retained our Trading Post column that showcases fur trade-era artifacts; every feature article ends with a small beaver icon; and we’ve renamed the Letters page “The Packet,” as it was called back in 1920 when the magazine was launched.

In unveiling our new look, we pledge to do our best to honour the legacy of this historic publication. And we look forward to sharing Canada’s stories for many years to come.

Mark Collin Reid
Editor-in-chief, Canada's History magazine
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