Haymarket design director Paul Harpin, John Brown executive creative director Jeremy Leslie and a line-up of the great and good of UK editorial design have come together to launch The Editorial Design Organisation, a not-for-profit body that "aims to promote the skill, knowledge and appreciation of editorial design in magazines, newspapers and websites".

Leslie, who also runs the magazine design blog, magCulture explains the ED.O's goals...

"It’s not often that I get excited about the launch of a committee-based professional body. There are enough already, surely?

This one is different, though. ED.O has been set up by a group of senior design figures in the publishing industry, with the support of their companies, to promote the role of the magazine and newspaper designer to the broader design world. Remarkably for an industry the size of ours, this is the first-ever such group set up in the UK.

Why is it needed? We felt that our design specialism is often overlooked, the irony being that magazines in their many guises are a vital reflection and measurement of visual trends of any given time. And in an era where more and more designers are finding themselves dealing with delivering content, the ability to present it intelligently and engagingly in print and online has never been so important.

As founding chair (and the person behind the idea) Paul Harpin says, ‘We hope ED.O will foster debate among professionals working in the industry and inspire students and young professionals entering the field’.

How to do that? We have many ambitions but in the first year we’ll be concentrating on arranging a series of speakers/debates, formulating an education plan, and launching a website.

Full details about membership and events will be announced shortly."

The full list of those involved is:

Chair: Paul Harpin, Design Director
Haymarket Media & Haymarket Network

Deputy Chair: Jeremy Leslie
Executive Creative Director
John Brown Group

Treasurer:Marissa Bourke
Creative Director, Elle

Founding committee:
Geoff Waring Creative Director,
Easy Living

Paul Kurzeja Creative Director,
Redwood Group

Andy Cowles Editorial Development
Director, IPC Media

Sara Horrocks Art Director new
projects, EMAP

Simon Esterson Design Consultant,
Esterson Associates

Jon Bains Chairman, Lateral

Suzanne Sykes, Creative Director,
USA Marie Claire

John Belknap Creative Director,
The Jewish Chronicle

Cath Caldwell Senior Lecturer,
BA Graphic Design, Central Saint Martins
College of Art

Tony Chambers
Editor-in-Chief, Wallpaper*

John Tennant
Creative Director, Seven Squared

For information on joining, email edo@gillbranston.com