Tehelka

A weekly Indian newsmagazine committed to constructive and crusading investigative journalism Tehelka brought back into focus the two most crucial pillars of a free press: public interest and the appetite to question. It established a reputation for the quality of its reportage, its writers, and the refinement of its analyses and ideas.

I joined Tehelka, when it transitioned from a tabloid to a weekly news magazine. As Design Editor, it was hard to ignore the tagline 'Free, Fair, Fearless' when approaching the design. By bringing all the stakeholders on board and focussing on the core reader base, a look which showcased the content and visuals better was focussed on.

Without the resources of a larger media group we realised the best way to achieve a distinct look, was by adopting an appearance traditionally reserved for monthlies and feature based magazines. Falling back on strong illustrations, which the entire team contributed to, the use of bold typography, photo-editing and allowing the content to dictate hierarchies and design, made the publication stand out from the competition.

Working with an illustrious panel of award winning editors and journalists, photographers, and illustrators week after week under extremely tight deadlines, sometimes just a few hours was a tremendous experience.