Solstice: Literary & Art Magazine
Print Design | 2019 | Hinsdale Central High School
My Role
Creative Director (2019)
Introduction
Compile a 64 page hard copy publication of the school's best literary and art works in 5 months or less... (no biggie)
I created wireframe templates, led the theming discussions that influenced the overall look of the final issue, and had final say on all selected artworks. As creative director, my largest contribution was leading 15 other designers as well as acting as liaison between the 'design side' and 'literary side' to ensure that the publication came together cohesively and represented everyone's ideas and contributions.
The Challenge
While I've always had a pretty good memory, from the comics to the movies, there are just too many overlapping plot lines to remember them all, and that feeling is multiplied if you are new to experiencing the movies in any form but especially out of order. Thus, I came up with a functional design that, once fully realized, would allow users to click on any movie, character, or tv title and see all the basic information you would need to know before watching the next movie coming soon.
Iteration(s)
While waiting for submissions, I designed 11 layout templates to maintain visual consistency. We chose a landscape orientation (11x8.5") to give art pieces more room to breathe. I highly recommend this for visual-first publications looking to show hero images at scale.
Final Publication
Though a high school project, Solstice taught me key professional skills—communication, organization, critique, and leadership. I carry these lessons with me into every new project, proud of what we created as a team and how it shaped my creative foundation.
