post- Magazine Layouts

Every week, I spend two hours with the design team for post- creating layouts for that week's issue of the magazine. Each person designs two spreads with wildly different story content and illustrations. With such a short amount of time, we must quickly adapt to designing under pressure.

I begin by getting the copy onto the page to evaluate how long the story will be and how much room will be left for the illustration. Then, I drop in the illustration and get a sense of its colors, texture, border, shapes, and opportunities for unique treatments. Usually, the illustration will give me a sense of what colors and composition I choose for the layout.

After the story and image fit on the page accordingly, I look for ways to liven up the composition. Often times, the illustration has elements that can be cut out and repeated in other areas of the layout. Or gradient backgrounds can be used to extend the color scheme across the spread. I look for as many ways to create dynamism without distracting from the story itself.

Twice per year, post- is able to produce a printed publication that gets distributed across Brown and RISD campus. I have been tasked with creating the cover design for both the 2025 Spring Weekend and 2025 Family Weekend print editions. These editions feature special themes chosen by us, those being modern infrared and scrapbook respectively. They offer even more leeway for creative choices, especially on the cover.