De Correspondent recently celebrated a decade of unbreaking news. As co-founders and the design force behind the 3rd largest membership journalism platform in the world, we celebrated with them — and developed a brand and platform evolution to better serve their members.
Our guiding principle: to create a unique member experience that cultivates calm.
Members power the movement
When De Correspondent launched in 2013, we helped them set a crowdfunding world record. Their ad-free model shifts the news focus from the sensational to the foundational and has attracted tens of thousands of paying members.
To maintain that strong relationship with their members, and reach new ones, De Correspondent knew that after a decade, it was time to evolve. The number one request from members was an app. We answered that request and took it one step further — redesigning the platform from a holistic perspective with fresh eyes.
A brand evolution that cultivates calm
Together with Rob Wijnberg, editor-in-chief, and the whole De Correspondent team, Momkai developed an evolved brand and platform identity — building on our original,
award-winning work.
We developed a new, extended color system that creates distinction between stories. It offers the calm reading experience that members are used to, but celebrates the viewpoints on offer by giving each story a different look and feel.
We also chose an updated Typeface, KlimType’s Family. This font reflects the solid, established platform that De Correspondent has grown into, but still holds a slightly rebellious, rogue element that gives it character.
Handcrafted, yet elevated
We kept the brand’s personal feel to foster greater human-to-human connection. The logo was handwritten by our co-founder Harald Dunnink. The “C” emblem references a single quotation mark – the opening of a personal statement.
Hand-drawn avatar portraits by Cléa Dieudonné unite correspondents in a visually identifiable group. These pen-and-ink drawings are a core element of the branding and a deliberate departure from picture-perfect media representations.
The style is hard to copy and works as an extension of the branding: wherever a correspondent’s characteristic hand-drawn portrait pops up, viewers will immediately think of De Correspondent.
An immersive platform experience
The new De Correspondent offers an intuitive navigation that makes it easier for members to access the stories they care about.
Members can read or listen to stories, contribute their expertise, and discover related insights all in one immersive experience. By clearing away distractions, members can fully focus on uncovering in-depth expertise that illuminates the world around them.
The new De Correspondent app is a follow up to the original award-winning De Correspondent audio app, also developed by our team at Momkai.
Real world impact
Momkai partners with De Correspondent on projects beyond the digital realm, too. From events to campaigns to publishing, our design vision has informed the brand at every step.
Our team has carefully crafted the covers of every book released by the De Correspondent publishing arm, including several international best-sellers.
De Correspondent & Momkai
De Correspondent was co-founded by Momkai’s founder, Harald Dunnink, and its CTO, Sebastian Kersten, along with editor-in-chief Rob Wijnberg and publisher Ernst-Jan Pfauth.
Since its successful launch, which set a world record for journalism crowdfunding, the online platform has acquired over 60,000 members, who happily pay for quality investigative journalism.
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