As editor-in-chief of Ann Arbor's nationally awarded scholastic magazine,
I led a redesign of the publication. This involved leading a staff of
over 60, creating templates which were easily understandable, and assisting
those with less design skill to contribute to a cohesive brand and
consistent reader experience. Additionally, I helped lead a move towards
theme-based editions, each of which had its own aesthetic language and
addressed specific topics. Under my leadership as design editor and
editor-in chief, we were awarded 1st and 2nd place in consecutive years
by the National Scholastic Press Association, as well as receiving their
prestigious
Pacemaker Award.
Typography
For the redesign of the magazine, my main goal was to ensure consistency
across each page of each issue. With different designers for each article,
this meant strict typography guidelines, which would make it easier
to train staff and compile the magazine.
Aktiv Grotesk,
with its breadth of families, was a sans-serif multitool with a blocky, modern feel.
Georgia,
with its consistent weighting, adherance to readability, and
beautiful italics, was an excellent complement to the brutalism of
Aktiv.
Themes
For a magazine, I think that cover design is both a chance to display
artwork, as well as a way to turn a first impression into curiousity.
For each themed issue, I was responsible for curating graphic and artistic
styles, and creating a cover which was tied to the themed section.
For the tech edition, I settled on lines of binary code as a graphic motif.
I used a 3D render of this code wrapping around a smartphone for a
dramatic, eye-catching cover.
For our identity edition, I focused on studio portraits of the subjects
as the main visuals. Through this, I felt that we could be more true to
the people featured, without abstracting their stories. The cover and
title page show the multilayered, intersecting nature of identity through
the use of collage.
We dedicated an issue to violence during ongoing concerns about gun
legislation, local sexual assault policy, and police brutality. One of the
pieces featured a teacher who hunts in his free time, and who advocates
for responsible gun ownership. I created a digital silhouette of his gun,
a Winchester Model 94, which appeared on the cover with a white padlock,
symbolizing the push and pull between safety and freedoms. Additionally,
I laid out the article with an illustration of a bullet flying from the
muzzle of the rifle and piercing through the text.
For our final issue, we focus on the stories of graduating seniors. However,
for the class of 2020, graduation was marred by COVID-19, without the opportunity
to celebrate in person. Although the issue remained celebratory, I wanted
to acknowledge the virtual nature of our lives, not pretend it hadn't happened.
I recreated computer windows to hold the portraits of each senior, and
added mouse pointers floating around the pages.
See more
The Communicator publishes online at
chscommunicator.com.
To view print issues, including volume 46, click
here.
