Key details
Date
- 29 July 2026
Read time
- 1 minute
This talk took place on the 29th July 2026.
A wide-ranging conversation on the state of editorial design in today's publishing landscape, and why the discipline is attracting heightened interest from students, young designers and established practitioners.
In this conversation, Adrian Shaughnessy and Astrid Stavro explored the evolving role of book design, joined by MagCulture founder Jeremy Leslie, who offered his perspective on the current state of magazine and periodical design.
Together, they monitored the health of editorial design at a moment of technological and cultural change.
Bringing together three leading voices in the field, this discussion examined the challenges, opportunities and future directions of editorial design in the 21st century.
Speakers
Jeremy Leslie
Jeremy Leslie is a London-based designer, writer and curator who runs magCulture, the platform celebrating the new generation of independent magazines. MagCulture encompasses a studio, shop, regular live events in London and New York, and podcast. A passionate advocate for editorial design, he regularly contributes to the creative press, speaks at conferences and judges awards.
Astrid Stavro
Astrid Stavro is a creative director with more than two decades of experience across editorial design, brand identity and cultural projects. Her work combines conceptual clarity, typographic rigour and meticulous craft, with a particular focus on publishing and visual culture.
Before founding Astrid Stavro Studio, she was a partner at Pentagram and co-founder of Atlas. She is President of the International Society of Typographic Designers, a Visiting Lecturer at the Royal College of Art, and a member of Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI). She is the co course leader on the RCA short course Editorial Design.
Adrian Shaughnessy
Adrian Shaughnessy is a graphic designer, writer, publisher and educator. He has taught at the RCA in the School of Communication since 2010, and latterly in the School of Design. Shaughnessy is a co-founder of Unit Editions, a publishing company producing books on design and visual culture. He has written, designed, edited, art directed and published numerous books on design. He is the course leader on the RCA short course Editorial Design.
More information
Find out more about our Editorial Design short course
Discover an expanded view of the craft of Editorial Design in an open and experimental online environment, under the expert guidance of graphic designers Adrian Shaughnessy and Astrid Stavro.
