Project Overview
Signatures Art & Literary Magazine is an annual student-run magazine that showcases student art, photography, illustration, poetry, and prose. As the design editor, I determined the style for the publication and trained new designers on the team. I oversaw the selection process for the art, designed spreads, and designed the cover and new logo.
Designing the Cover
I wanted to create a whimsical, eye-catching design that fit tonally with the magazine while still feeling inviting. I started with photograms I created in the darkroom and edited them to fit better behind the large letters.
Design Decisions
We received a wide variety of art and literature submissions this year. Interestingly, a lot of the art leaned toward a bright and fun vibe while the writing tended to be more dark and serious. Creating spreads that balanced this was a challenge, but made the perfect matches more rewarding.
Design for Print & Web
Signatures Magazine is primarily a print magazine, so I worked directly with the printers to ensure everything was formatted correctly and approved the proofs. Signatures 38 and 39 are also published digitally on our website.
Signatures 39
Signatures 39 is the newest edition I've worked on as the Design Editor. To contrast the maximalist aesthetic of the previous year, I created a simple graphic for the cover and enhanced it by choosing a reflective foil for the print run. The theme of reflection and metamorphosis was present in the collection, so I reflected the front for the back cover to emphasize that, while also inverting it.
