EDITING, LEADERSHIP, TEAMBUILDING
Junior Year
As Design Editor, my main job description was leading the print magazine's overall look and assembling the master document for each issue. However, saying only that would be oversimplifying the role. Last year, I had to learn that my job included much more than what I was expecting: problem-solving any Indesign challenges, conducting redesigns, having important conversations, and staying up til' 4 am fix the 54 missing links on the master were a few hurdles thrown my way. And with all that said, I loved every part of it– even through the hard days... which were a lot.
Editing drafts
One of my goals as an editor this year was to keep my editing process very uniform and organized. I decided that the best way for my section would be by creating separate folders for each draft so my staffers could easily add a JPEG of their spread and I could add comments for them to resolve. My main challenge with editing at first was that I felt like my edits were sometimes too overwhelming. I mitigated this issue by trying to break down my edits as much as possible, adding links to examples and even sketches of my own.
Communication
My main form of communication with my section is through our group chat. I usually text whenever a deadline is coming up but our texts can range from anything- TikToks that remind us of things we talk about in class, random photos of each other out of context, or a cool new magazine I stumble upon in the library. Building this lighthearted relationship through text has helped for when the texts are more serious or urgent because we reinforce a healthy balance between work and play.
Training
The two Google Slides I created as part of training are shown to the left. They were both very helpful introductions to the world of design. I still reference the inspiration one whenever my staffers are having trouble finding inspiration on their own. Something I would like to work on for the next semester is more consistent and deeper training. I wanna dedicate some time to looking at how to effectively design alt-copy and a typography-specific mini lesson.
