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Design
1
Page design
During my three years on staff, I have contributed to over 15 issues of our paper, four of which I have designed the centerspreads for. Page design not only elevates my stories, but my creativity.
2
Website and social media
Last year, our website and paper had a major redesign, requiring a new website flag, online logo, and cohesive style. Getting to design our new look was built my leadership on staff and interests in online design.
3
Merchandise and more
My leadership positions in Girl Up Florida, National Honor Society, and the Florida Scholastic Press Association have allowed me to design shirts, stickers, flyers and more.
Page Design
Click each image to read about the project
Changing Times
Originally scheduled to be our first centerspread of the school year, this story and design had to be pushed back for Issue 2. I didn't want to rush this story due to its sensitivity and heavy research. I cutout photos of students' hands to visualize the different groups I interviewed to include in the story. The different text styles were also implemented to further visualize the message of diversity and the different groups on campus. I used InDesign to put the spread together, and Photoshop to cutout the hands. The different character styles were all in the same font family, but different styles in order to be cohesive with the rest of our paper.
Issue 2 cover-
"Changing Times"
To go with my centerspread story, I designed this front cover to feature some of the different students I interviewed for the story. To keep the design consistant, I changed the color code for the flag to match the doodles. When making this cover, I wanted to make sure I included students from as many different backgrounds and grades as I could, and I was thrilled with he final product. Again, I used Photoshop to cutout the students and InDesign to put the pieces together. I wroked with our staff illustrator, Areli, who created the colorful illustrations, which added a fun and unique element to the page. I messed with the arrangement of the students and illustrations in order to create dimension in the page.
Trapped
This was the centerspread for our first issue this year, and it was a struggle to put together. Two stories, one of which I wrote, focused on how recent house bills affected students, so I wanted to incorporate language from the bills into the design. Hours of Photoshop and InDesign allowed me to make the final product, with each cutout and the background being formed by the bills' language and related terms. Although I am certified in InDesign, I had to find YouTube tutorials on how to create the word cutouts in Photoshop. I decided to place the student cutouts within the text rather than having it wrap around the graphics to visually break up the text and add to the idea of students being "trapped." I tried four variations of this spread, changing the color and cutout techniques. At first, I used a true gray color as the background, but realized a subtle change in color would make the graphics stand out from the text. So, I created a custom red tint on InDesign, saving it as a color swatch to use in Photoshop and for the front cover. This spread not only challenged my Adobe skills, but my patience and focus, but I loved the final product.
Issue 1 cover-"Trapped"
Along with the centerspread, I designed the front cover, featuring a student I interviewed for the story. I used clipping masks in Photoshop to make the bills' language form her cutout. With new laws and rules taking over student actions and control, I wanted to show this through the design.
Let's BeReal- NSPA Newspaper/Newsmagazine Showcase 2023
In my junior year, I created this centerspread for our first issue of the year, highlighting my story on the popular app BeReal. As a fun and lighthearted story, I wanted the design to be just as eye-catching. Taking real BeReals that were taken by students I interviewed, I used Photoshop and InDesign to display them on cutouts of the subjects holding their phone screens to increase the sharpness of the photos. I also included facts about BeReal throughout the spread, slightly layering them over the hand cutouts. I would consider this design more minimalistic in comparison to my other pieces, but sometimes that's what works best for the story. I let the photos do the talking, but had clean design to frame the copy. This design was recognized by NSPA as a finalist (top 10) in the nation for Newspaper/Newsmagazine spread design.
The Pros of Pronouns- NSPA Newspaper/Newsmagazine Showcase 2022
In my first year on staff, I was asked to create the first centerspread of the year, and I was terrified. I had never worked heavily in InDesign, or even contributed to the paper before. My story on our school's Gay-Straight Alliance was the main copy in this spread, so I wanted the design to highlight the message of keeping an open mind. Working with our staff illustator, I loved putting this design together as it introduced me to digital media and sparked my interests in print design. I created the original sketch for the main image, then collaborated witht he illustrator to make the final product. I wanted to have a softer color palette on this spread so that the girl's face would stand out. Although it was my first spread, it was recognized by NSPA as a national finalist (top 10) in the Newspaper/Newsmagazinecategory.
Issue 3 cover-"A slice of the life of Antonio Pizza"
For our most recent print issue, we wanted to feature one of our staffer's stories on our campus' announcements personality, Antonio Pizza. As the story dived deep into his many interests and unique hobbies, I wanted the cover to showcase his colorful personality and wide range of activities. After an hour-long photoshoot with our print editor, I cutout the best images to display on the front. We had never done a cover like this before, so having multiple images of the same person on the front page was new territory, but the design conveys the message of Pizza's personality and many roles on campus. This issue got a lot of attention across campus, with students even getting Pizza to sign their copies.
Website and Social Media Design
Merchandise and More
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