DESIGN
THE SAN MATEO DAILY JOURNAL
As a social media intern for the San Mateo Daily Journal (SMDJ), I was in charge of creating posts for their official Instagram account. Since the paper has limited local news photography on their site, I knew a blend of graphics and photos would be the best theme for our feed. I transitioned to using templates for every three posts, which resulted in a cleaner and more visually appealing page.
OLD FEED
Here is what SMDJ’s old Instagram feed looked like. Since the posts solely consisted of photos, the pages looked busy and did not tell users what the post was about in a glance.
NEW FEED
Here is what the new feed looks like after I took over the account. By including graphics, each post hopes to engage users and provide them with a quick insight into each story.
Below are examples of each post format. Each caption includes a snippet of the article the post covered and encourages users to use our link to the SMDJ website to read the full story. By completing the Instagram-feed makeover, I witnessed our following count and user engagement increase dramatically. To learn more about my role in this transformation, explore Web and Social Media.
FROM THIS…
TO THIS…
AND BEYOND.
HIGHLANDER DESIGN PROCESS:
Class-wide brainstorm for design ideas
Editors approve or deny design pitches
Work with writers to build maestros
Collect art and form the layout on Adobe InDesign
Re-do or fine-tune art/photos using Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator
Editors complete design for PDF circle edits where I lead design discussions
Editors finalize spread design to turn in to me and my managing editor
One of the many “Highlander brainstorm” sheets for issue 3 hangs on our wall.
NEW STYLE GUIDE
In my senior year, I thought it was about time to make an update to the Highlander style guide. Along with making changes to the Indesign template, this style guide provided writers and editors with the means to implement consistent design across the publication. While creative fonts and design outside of the style guide are always welcomed, I sought to standardize our headline fonts and maintain a clean, professional brand for Highlander.
ISSUE COVERS
The covers of each issue are arguably the most critical aspect of capturing the interests of students. Because of this, it was essential that our covers were eye-catching, connected to the Scotlight theme, and featured members of the student body themselves. Below are examples of three Highlander issues I designed.
ISSUE I
ISSUE II
ISSUE IV
TABLE OF CONTENTS
This year, I sought to create a more engaging contents page to appeal to our student audience. I changed the layout of the staff section to optimize flow, and added a space for pictures relating to the Scotlight of each issue.
OLD 2020-2021 table of contents page.
NEW 2021-2022 table of contents page.
EXPLORE THE FINAL PRODUCTS
Below are the online copies of the print magazine available to the public through issuu.com/scotscoop.
SCOT SCOOP DESIGN
From illustrations to infographics and beyond — Click any element to explore the article they belong to.
“Ways students cheat” infographic visualizes the most common methods students use to pursue academic dishonesty.
“Systemic racism in education” infographic provides data illustrating how systemic racism functions in the school system.
“Overfishing by the numbers” infographic expresses the various statistics demonstrating the prevalence of overfishing.
“Taking mental notes” illustration depicts the temptation for students to take testing shortcuts.
“No justice no peace!” graphic illustrates the fight towards racial justice and equity in the United States.
Plastic is not the only problem regarding ocean destruction; overfishing is the looming monster that lies beneath it all.
“We are one” illustration depicts the importance of intersectional feminism.
“Academic plagiarism” infographic visualizes the extent of student cheating in high school settings.
“Civic engagement” infographic suggests methods of political involvement.
“Styles of ballroom” infographic outlines the five primary dance types and their unique qualities.