For my Final Major Project at university, I set out to explore the notion of ‘beautiful ugly’. I was driven by the idea of how something that is slightly off, and incorporates both attractive and unattractive elements, could be more interesting than traditionally beautiful and arguably ‘safe’ aesthetics?

I decided to channel this contradictory premise by working towards a proposal for the launch of a new editorial publication that would benefit from a distinctive use of a somewhat alternative look and feel. The project came to be about designing, branding and generating original visual contents for a unique magazine that was looking to stand out by being beautiful and charming in an offbeat, and sometimes awkward manner.

The outcome is Burt: a niche art/culture/fashion publicationset to celebrate the coming together of beauty and ugliness. Whether it is the awkward, absurd, vulnerable, flawed, mundane or unconventional – Burt is there to see the beauty in it, and lift if it for others to enjoy. But not all of it is handed to you straight. The editorial narrative is comprised of a deliberately confusing mix of different forms of literary art; prepare to be left perplexed. (The magazine is packaged in its own cover for further inconvenience.)

All the featured articles are borrowed from various sources. I do not claim ownership of any of these.
All visuals by me.