730DC newsletter gets design refresh from local firm

730DC, Washington’s mission-driven daily local news newsletter, returned after a brief hiatus on Tuesday to show off an all new look. The newsletter, which launched in October 2013, just underwent its first major design refresh in those three years, and it’s all thanks to a local branding and design firm Composite Co.
In a post on Medium, 730DC editor Hayden Higgins describes the rebranding:

“[Composite Co.] also worked with us to streamline the layout, keeping it simple and readable, while also designing a kit of icons that we hope to employ playfully in the newsletter and beyond. We also ditched the stately Georgia for the more modern Helvetica.”
The all-new newsletter also boasts a color refresh — red, in order to recall the D.C. flag and a digital clock — and a new header. As Higgins notes in his Medium post, the new design moves the newsletter away from it’s early web-reminiscent roots. Still, the look is a little whimsical to mirror the often irreverent tone of the newsletter writing itself.
“We’re really excited about this, and look at it as a chance to double down on the elements that we enjoy about the newsletter, including commitment to civic engagement and a love of the DIY ethos that infuses Washington’s civil society and cultural scene,” Higgins writes.
The Medium post also includes an interview with Composite Co. cofounders Jacob Weinzettel and Christian Dutilh. Read on for more on their backgrounds and design ethos.