Publishing

The Society’s journals move to a new online platform and get a fresh look and feel

From early July, members may have noticed some big changes when browsing a Society journal either online or in print. We have launched a new platform and rebranded our journals to align with our new branding, launched in 2014.

A new online platform for the Society’s peer-reviewed content

Over the last year, staff have been working with Publishing Technology to build a new, modern and streamlined journal platform. The new website launched at the end of June and has been designed to give users a fast and responsive experience no matter which device is being used to access it.

Readers can search across the entire range of the Society’s journals for the content that they need. The platform also allows them to log in and save their preferences, making it a highly interactive and personalised research environment.

Other key features include content alerts, altmetrics and social sharing, as well as article collections that can be curated by subject category experts. This means that papers on hot topics such as Ebola, genomics or antimicrobial resistance can be grouped together and made easily discoverable.

Michael Cairns, CEO of Publishing Technology, said of the new platform: “The Microbiology Society is a forward-thinking publisher with a clear digital strategy. The new site integrates our most powerful platform features and we are confident that it will deliver a highly interactive, feature-rich experience befitting the Society’s reputation for high-quality research.”

Rebranding the Society’s journals

Following the launch of the Society’s new corporate brand in February 2014, we turned our attention to the Society’s journals and their branding. Working with the branding agency Firedog, and using the Society’s brand essence (see word cloud) as a starting point, we considered how the Society would position itself as a modern, self-publishing operation.

Clifford Boobyer, from Firedog, outlined: “Working within the restrictions of branded areas in the online platform, we created a universal system of assets which was achieved by introducing the molecular shapes defined in the original identity. We combined this with type and functional identity assets all supported by large areas of white space. In turn this allowed us to bring the previous dated journals in line with the overall Society branding, making it easier for the user to recognise the family.”

The result is an entirely new look, which has very clear links to the Society’s corporate brand whilst maintaining the journals’ individuality. Firedog has created a clean, contemporary design for the online platform, and fresh, eye-catching covers for the print journals.

The new publishing platform can be accessed at www.http://www.microbiologyresearch.org. We would welcome any feedback on either the new platform or the new journal branding – please get in touch via [email protected] with your comments or on Twitter @MicroBioSoc.

BELOW: WORD CLOUD OUTLINING THE KEY WORDS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR BRAND.

 

"Through the new platform, readers will find it easier to discover, use and share content. Authors will see their work enriched and will be able to constantly measure its impact among their peers."

Leighton Chipperfield, Director of Publishing and Income Diversification

"I am delighted with the journals’ new branding. It continues to strengthen the relationship between the Society and its journals ensuring that all our key stakeholders identify the Microbiology Society as a modern, self-publishing organisation."

Dariel Burdass, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Strategy and Communications

FURTHER READING

Altmetrics: The impacts on Impact. Microbe Post. Last accessed 8 June 2015.

Creating an infectious brand. Microbiology Today. Last accessed 8 June 2015.

KERRY COLE

Head of Sales and Marketing

SIMON HAGAN

Marketing Manager