DESIGN
While design is not my strongest section, it's definitely one I plan to branch out to more as I learn new skills through yearbook. Since my sophomore year, I have been doing some sort of design work. However, I never felt comfortable enough to try new designs, which is partly from always being on a tight deadline. Now that I'm able to better navigate both InDesign and Walsworth, I get to have and spend more time being creative with my spreads.
Magazine Spreads
Around three years ago when we only had nine staffers, our team decided to bring back our print magazine, reviving it after it had died eight years prior. With a small but mighty team of journalist, we we're able to figure our InDesign well enough to release an issue each quarter, which marked the start of our design journey. While we stayed relatively simple with designs the first two years, this year we have shifted our focus towards a magazine that embraces more unique designs and thought through themes.
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Now with two years of InDesign experience under my belt and a team that's collectively trying new things, more of my time is spent on design. Recently I have been experimenting with colored text boxes, trying to find a way to make my spreads pop while still looking clean.​
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With more time, skill, and staffers, coming up with creative designs for our magazines will become the new norm.​
While the design is simple, it taught me how to balance my spread so both my full story and photos I wanted to include could fit.
This is my most recent spread design where I played around with colored text boxes. Since I wasn't able to rotate the box, I used around three blue boxes to create the cut of color across the page.
This spread is what I created for our Volume 1 Issue 4 magazine, where we decided to try something new by making each spread a different color to complement our Kaleidoscope theme.
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This was the old design for our website before I took over as assistant web editor.
Revamping our Website
When I first started my position as the assistant web editor, I realized that our website design had hardly been touched since it was created. Because of this, I decided I wanted to create a new layout that would help our publication feel more modern. After learning how to work SNO Sites, I decide to keep the layout the same while changing the design to be consistent and clean.
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Looking back on my design choice, if I had felt more comfortable with the software I would have gone for a bolder design that would make our website stand out when compared to others. ​​​
Inforgraphics
A lot of the times it's easier to explain something visually than it is to write it out, which is exactly where infographics come in handy. While these graphics include text, they are more image heavy with bullet points summarizing the main ideas; a great way to example complex information in an engaging way.​
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When I created my first infographic, I kept things relatively simple, including pops of color and bold titles to draw the viewers' attention, However, I wanted my next graphic to be bolder with designs that amplified the text. Pinterest was a huge help for ideas on where to start.
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​For my graphic on the new bill, I used Canva to create my design. To get exactly what I wanted with the different elements, specifically the money and arrow, I had to combine multiple images with colored text boxes. While it took a few hours to put together, I'm really proud with how the overall design turned out.
I decided to freshen things up and give our website a more modern look that fits our publication.
After spending hours looking for information on this new state bill, I realized that this would be a great opportunity to create an infographic. This graphic has all the main point in one area, making it easy for readers to understand the bill without having to do extended research.
This was my first infographic that I did for my story on the school support levy. I used the information I gathered and displayed it visually to help readers better understand where school funds go.
Yearbook Spreads
Even with this year being my first in yearbook, I have been trying to find new ways to strengthen the visual appearance of our spreads. For some time now, each yearbook has kept relatively the same design, not doing things that are bold or stand out. However, this year we are collectively trying to embrace a new theme to help our book stand out as its own.
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While I haven't had the chance yet to show the true designs I want to do for spreads, I have instead drafted them all in my notebook. For the spreads I have created, I've been finding new ways to format the story, images, and mods so each page looks different than the last.
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As the school year continues, my confidence with Walsworth only grows, and I'm excited to finally start implementing new design elements into our spreads.
This was a mockup design I did for yearbook staffers that went to Elite Weekend in Anaheim, CA, earlier this year.
Our first assignment in yearbook was to make an "About Me" spread, which not only tested our writing abilities, but also design and layout skills. If I could go back and change this design, I would add photo cut outs and more color to help the spread pop.
This is the design that I have drafted for the journalism and broadcast spread. I lot of what is done on spreads is simply photos and stories, however, I would really like to add cut out elements throughout to help break up text and make the spread look more appealing.