ABOUT

Bustle Digital Group has been in the business of acquiring publications, and Code and Theory has been an integral partner in helping them grow their portfolio and rethink modern digital storytelling over a multi-year engagement.

Our work began with The Outline in 2016, working with long-time Code and Theory collaborator Joshua Topolsky (six product launches in the last decade). The Outline made waves for its unconventional storytelling systems and the advent of the card system.

Though the card is a widely used concept around the web, the design approach we took to them is unique. We started with a toolkit of typographies, color schemes, and image treatments. Multiply that by different card types and layout variations, and there are hundreds of permutations of how a single card can look. The card is the foundation of every story and is highly flexible for the story it needs to tell. The story determines the presentation, not the other way around.

The Outline was acquired by BDG in 2019, along with Inverse, a science fiction and entertainment site, and Topolsky’s idea to create Input, a new consumer technology site. Iterating on the Outline’s card system, we launched Input and Inverse with an improved card system for new types of stories.

In late 2019 and 2020, we further extended the card system to Nylon and Bustle, two more brands in the BDG portfolio. They are launching in 2020.