Townmag Issue ThreeA 10,000-copy independent magazine produced for the Newtown Enmore precinct, combining original stories, photography, illustration and design to celebrate the people and places that make the neighbourhood what it is.
Townmag is our ongoing love letter to Newtown and Enmore, made with the Newtown Enmore Business Community and built around the people who make the neighbourhood what it is. For Issue Three, Good Decisions produced the magazine from beginning to end, with Creative Director Lachlan Bruce curating the issue, interviewing its subjects, writing the stories, shooting the photography, illustrating the cover and designing the publication.
That meant a few months spent moving around the neighbourhood with a camera, meeting the people behind places like Papa Disquo, Wingboy, MoshPit, Marani Deli, P&V and Fleetwood Macchiato. The stories were found and developed along the way, rather than handed to us as a finished editorial plan, allowing the issue to become a snapshot of what was happening around Newtown and Enmore at that particular moment.
The magazine is only one part of it. We filmed interviews and additional content with the people featured in the issue, then developed animated elements and social content to take those stories beyond the printed page. Lachlan also illustrated the Issue Three cover, tying it back into the broader visual language we’ve been building for the precinct across each edition.
That same visual language extends to the illustrated Newtown Enmore map, originally created by Good Decisions as part of the precinct branding. We update it twice a year as businesses open, close and change, with the map appearing throughout the campaign and now permanently installed at Newtown Station. It’s become a living illustration of the neighbourhood rather than something that was designed once and left alone.
Issue Three also coincided with Great Southern Nights, bringing local music releases, venue stories and the Gig Trail into the magazine and wider campaign. Posters, animation, social content, video and the station map all worked alongside the publication, turning what began on the page into something that could live around the neighbourhood itself.
Then 10,000 copies arrived. After months of interviewing, writing, shooting, illustrating, designing and putting the whole thing together, Townmag went straight back out into the places and businesses it was made about. Three issues in, it’s becoming less about documenting Newtown and Enmore from the outside and more about creating an ongoing record of the neighbourhood from within it.
Precinct MapAn illustrated map of the Newtown Enmore precinct, featured in Townmag and updated twice annually, with a large-scale permanent version now installed at Newtown Station.
Animation & InterviewsAnimated cover artwork brought Issue Three to life online, alongside a series of video interviews with featured businesses, extending the stories from Townmag across social channels.
Baxter & BlackOriginal photography shot at Baxter & Black on Enmore Road, capturing the craft, tools and character of the shoe repair workshop as part of its feature in Issue Three.
Marani DeliOriginal photography shot at Marani Deli in Newtown, capturing the food, family and story behind the business as part of its editorial feature for Issue Three.
Papa DisquoOriginal photography shot inside Papa Disquo on Enmore Road, documenting the records, space and personality behind the store for its editorial feature in Issue Three of Townmag.
WingboyOriginal photography shot with Wingboy on Enmore Road, capturing the team, food and energy of the venue for their feature and interview in Issue Three of Townmag.
Launch at Young HenrysIssue Three launched at Young Henrys in Newtown, bringing together featured businesses, contributors and the local community to celebrate the latest edition over beers and a few copies.
