top of page
Design experience
Layout designs
Layouts for me have not been easy, even though I have some experience with graphic design. Adobe InDesign was another ballgame for me, so I had to learn new tools and programs very quickly. Luckily, I am a fast learner, so I am still improving every day, and my designs can become stronger.
Layouts pt. 1
Left: Here is a two-page spread I did earlier in the year. The right side of the spread shows how I designed a column. The pull quote and photo do get moved around for variation, but this shows a general template I follow. The left side of the spread shows how I designed a My Word Vs. Yours story. Since these are opposing editorials, they share a page and other elements. Throughout the year, I have had to learn Adobe InDesign and Photoshop to produce several layouts. From the first to the last, I have improved, and I have watched several Creative Cloud-certified videos to help myself learn.
Layouts pt. 2
Left: In this image is another two-page spread I have made. This spread has four parts: a Fresh Voice, a Question of the Month, Thumbs, and a 300-word editorial. First, for the FV and the 300-word editorial, they follow a similar template. I use Photoshop to cut the headshot out, then line up the story, caption, image, and headline. For QOTM, I have to cut out each picture of these people, along with finding a spot with good light, so each picture is even. I actually cut out every headshot in my section using Photoshop, while tedious, it is fun. Lastly, for Thumbs, I have to write and design the eight blurbs and align them under the accompanying picture. This picture shows the more complicated design spread I am in charge of.
Summer design bootcamp
Left: In these two PDFs are the notes I took from several official Adobe InDesign videos and layouts I saw that I liked. Using the notes, my fellow editors and I compared what we learned and what stood out to us. I really enjoyed learning about the tiny design tricks you can do, while some of my friends talked more about practical design concepts. While flipping through old magazines, I took pictures of the layouts I liked. Our magazine's design is very standardized, but I am always interested in ways we can switch things up, so I was drawn to interesting out-of-the-box layouts. A personal favorite I saw was a layout depicting the different timestamps as two sisters were heading home from school, and the night went on.
Infographics
Canva designs
Across my many years in ODYSSEY, I have used Canva for a lot of designs. Some examples are Hot Topics, Instagram Trivias, and more infographics like designs. I included a couple of different examples to highlight how I approach my designs.
Prom hot topic
Left: In this PDF is a hot topic I made on Prom trends and evolutions. I wanted the blurbs for each era to mark an evolution in Prom history. For my high school, this was meant to be published right before our school's Prom so that it would be timely. I liked the research time because I got to learn a lot about Prom history and decide which ones were most pivotal for Prom history. I think this hot topic came out very nicely and I enjoyed the design process.
Science Week Trivia
Left: In this PDF is a trivia I made for the ODYSSEY's Instagram stories. I covered Science Week, which gave me a good range of design schemes to pull from. In hindsight, this design is very clip art-heavy and lacks much creativity elsewhere. One way I could improve it is by relying less on smaller designs and picking bigger ideas to create something more cohesive. On the good side, I like the background gradient and font choice, as well as the white boxes for the text. All in all, a fun trivia but a bit sloppy.
Presentation Pamphlet pt1
Left: In this image is a screenshot of a pamphlet I made to summarize the presentation I made with Wyatt Meyer. (The presentation is in my Commitment to Diveristy section). Here, I was able to use some of the design schemes of the presentation so it would be cohesive while making it easier to read. I made sure to use the text spacing and size so that there was space to breathe in the presentation. The colors also contribute well to the total design to make it pop without being distracting.
Presentation Pamphlet pt2
Right: In this visual is a pamphlet I made for a presentation Victoria Garland and I made. I think the colors are nice, and the information presented was a good summary of the presentation, but it has some issues. The first thing I notice looking back on it is how hard to read the text with that font. I also forced too much text on the page, so the whole thing is cluttered and distracted. If I remade it I would cut the text down a lot and break up the lines of text to make the design more readable.
Presentation Pamphlet pt3
Above: The visual on the left is a social media promotion poster for my presentation at NSPA, and the visual on the right is the handout for that same presentation. I wanted to show them here to focus on how I made them cohesive but still different in design. I knew I wanted them to match the presentation, which they do, but I also needed them to look standalone and still visually appealing. By keeping the color scheme simple and adding some fun effects like the grid and arrow key, I think they turned out very nicely. If I were to do it again, I would probably try to cut some words down on the handout so it's easier to read. I might also trya nd make the promo poster a bit more flashy to catch more attention.
Final Thoughts
Whether it was fighting with InDesign or experimenting with Canva and PicsArt, I have always loved design. It allowed me to convey my ideas and stories visually rather than just a block of text drowning in a newspaper fold.
As you can see throughout this portfolio, I love experimenting with design themes. I wanted to incorporate little pictures and borders that look taped in, as well as bright colors and cool shapes. This portfolio's design really represents how I approach anything journalistic: entirely myself. I encourage everyone to experiment with their designs instead of following the templates. Try something new!
bottom of page