Editorial
The magazine voice doesn’t survive translation if we strip every editorial signature. These patterns – drop-caps, pull-quotes, end-marks – carry the page’s craft into the screen. They are the difference between a long article and a long read.
Article header
Every feature opens with the same anatomy. Kicker on top, headline below, standfirst beneath that, byline last. Four parts, in that order, with breathing room between them.
Changing the face of the profession.
For three years she ran the calendar of the man who ran the building. Then the building changed hands, and so did everything else.
Drop-cap
The first letter of the article body, set in Freight Big Pro, hung four lines into the column. It is the oldest trick in editorial design – a small signal that says settle in, this is going to take a while.
For three years she ran the calendar of the man who ran the building, and most days that meant catching a 6.14 from Bromley South and arriving early enough to start the kettle. Then the building changed hands, the man retired to the south coast, and the morning train kept running without her. What follows is a quiet account of what came next – the year she stopped commuting and started leading.
Rules. Only the first paragraph after the standfirst, never below. Only on long features (1,200+ words). Never combined with a leading image inset – two editorial signatures stacked reads as busy. Never on news bites, dispatches, or three-question pieces.
Pull-quote
Three variants, each for a different rhythm. The inline sits in column. The break-out becomes the moment. The aside hangs to the side and lets the body breathe past it.
Inline pull-quote
She kept the same notebook for fourteen years. Black, A5, lay-flat binding, the corner soft from being carried in and out of the same canvas tote. The first page was the day she started; the last page, the day she handed the role back.
”You become the institutional memory. That’s the job nobody writes down.”
The notebook moved offices three times. It survived two redundancies, one merger, and the morning her chief executive resigned by text message at 6.42 a.m.
Break-out pull-quote
She kept the same notebook for fourteen years. Black, A5, lay-flat binding, the corner soft from being carried in and out of the same canvas tote.
”You become the institutional memory. That’s the job nobody writes down.”
The notebook moved offices three times. It survived two redundancies, one merger, and the morning her chief executive resigned by text message at 6.42 a.m.
Aside pull-quote
She kept the same notebook for fourteen years. Black, A5, lay-flat binding, the corner soft from being carried in and out of the same canvas tote.
The notebook moved offices three times. It survived two redundancies, one merger, and the morning her chief executive resigned by text message at 6.42 a.m. That morning she made tea, then made the call list.
Rules. Never invent the quote. The pull is a phrase the reader has already encountered – or is about to. Maximum 25 words. No ellipses to make a sentence fit. Attribution only on aside variants and only when the speaker isn’t obvious from context.
Captions
Inline beneath every editorial image. Italic for the descriptive part – the thing the reader would otherwise miss. Regular for the credit. Separated by a spaced en-dash.
Footnotes
A superscript marker in body, set in Inter at 10px in the issue accent colour. The note itself collects at the foot of the article in Freight Text 14px, with a hanging indent so the marker sits clear of the prose.
By the time she left, she was managing the diaries of seventeen non-executive directors1 across four time zones, none of whom had ever met one another in person2.
- 1Up from nine in 2019, including two who joined within six weeks of each other in March 2024.
- 2The first all-hands took place on a Tuesday in Lisbon. She had three hours’ sleep and a stack of name cards.
End-mark
A small filled square in teal at the very end of the body copy. The signature that says the article is over. Center-aligned, on its own line, separated from the last paragraph by one line of breathing room.
She still keeps the notebook in the canvas tote. Page 413 is blank, and that, she says, is the point.
Section breaks within articles
Three variants. Use the lightest one that does the job. The thin rule is the default; the asterisks signal a soft turn in the narrative; the sub-headline marks a new chapter.
…and the morning train kept running.
A year later, she gave her notice in writing.
…and the morning train kept running.
A year later, she gave her notice in writing.
…and the morning train kept running.
The year of the long handover.
A year later, she gave her notice in writing.
Kicker badges
The section label that travels with the brand. Five live in the masthead. Inter 11px, all-caps, wide tracking, set in the issue accent colour.
Related reading rail
At the foot of every article. Two or three cards: cover image, kicker, headline, byline. Same anatomy as the article header, in miniature.
The chief of staff who runs three CEOs.
Inside the room where the calendar is built.
On notebooks, and what survives them.
Contributor card
Used at the foot of a feature, and again in the contributor index at the back of every issue. Square portrait, name in Freight Text 18px semibold, a 30-word bio, and links in teal.
A reporter based in Warsaw and London. She writes about the people who run the rooms, and the systems they build to keep them running.
More by Anna →A photographer working between Mexico City and Lisbon. His commissioned portraits and observational work appear in this issue, his fourth for Executive Support.
More by Tomás →Issue overline
A tiny line that anchors a piece to its issue. Appears in the masthead, in indexes, in social shares, and at the head of every feature. The smallest editorial signature, and the most-used.
Usage rules
For three years she ran the calendar of the man who ran the building, and most days that meant catching a 6.14 from Bromley South.
Drop-caps belong on features of 1,200+ words. They are a settle-in signal – a contract with the reader.
A 60-word dispatch about a board appointment does not need a four-line drop-cap.
On a 60-word piece, the drop-cap dwarfs the article. Reserve it for the long reads.
The quote is a phrase from the body – something the subject actually said. Lift it; never invent it.
A pull-quote written for design and not for the reader breaks trust. Use the words on the page.
Every editorial image carries a caption and a credit. No exceptions, including hero images.
An uncredited image reads as borrowed. The credit is part of the picture.
Seventeen non-executive directors1 across four time zones.
Markers are superscript Inter, accent colour, never inline at body weight.
Seventeen non-executive directors [1] across four time zones.
Inline markers in body weight collide with the prose. They read as references, not as notes.
…and that, she says, is the point.
The end-mark sits beneath the final paragraph of every feature. One per article.
She joins on 1 May.
On a 40-word dispatch, the end-mark looks like a typo. Reserve it for pieces that earn the close.
Kicker colour follows the issue, not the headline mood. One accent per issue carries throughout.
A different accent on every kicker breaks the issue rhythm. The reader stops trusting the system.
For three years she ran the calendar of the man who ran the building. The morning train kept running.
Drop-cap, or lead image inset, or break-out quote – choose one to open. Layering them flattens each.
For three years she ran the calendar of the man who ran the building.
Two openers fighting for the eye. Pick the one the piece needs.
For three years she ran the calendar of the man who ran the building. Then the building changed hands.
One paragraph. Two sentences at most. Sets the stakes – the why, not the what.
A summary of the article in three paragraphs.
A list of every key quote, every milestone, every figure cited.
By the time the reader reaches the headline, the article has already happened.
Three paragraphs of standfirst is a synopsis. Cut to the line that sets the stakes.
A complete article specimen
The whole anatomy assembled. Kicker, headline, standfirst, byline, hero, caption, drop-cap, pull-quote, footnote, end-mark, contributor.
The year of the long handover.
For three years she ran the calendar of the man who ran the building. Then the building changed hands, and so did everything else.
For three years she ran the calendar of the man who ran the building, and most days that meant catching a 6.14 from Bromley South. Then the building changed hands, the man retired to the south coast, and the train kept running without her. What follows is a quiet account of what came next – the year she stopped commuting and started leading.
Hartnell joined the firm in 2010 as one of two assistants, then took over the chief executive’s diary in 2014. By the time she left, she was managing the diaries of seventeen non-executive directors1 across four time zones.
”You become the institutional memory. That’s the job nobody writes down.”
She kept the same notebook for fourteen years. Black, A5, lay-flat binding, the corner soft from being carried in and out of the same canvas tote. The first page was the day she started; the last page, the day she handed the role back.
She still keeps the notebook in the canvas tote. Page 413 is blank, and that, she says, is the point.
- 1Up from nine in 2019, including two who joined within six weeks of each other in March 2024.
A reporter based in Warsaw and London. She writes about the people who run the rooms, and the systems they build to keep them running.
More by Anna →