Kappa Alpha Journal Summer 2023 Issue
When Kappa Alpha Order suddenly lost their designer before their quarterly magazine deadline, our marketing team stepped in to save the project. Time was short so I had to split the publication work with a freelance designer we temporarily hired on, taking responsibility for half of the issue, while he took the other half. I quickly adapted to publication design, met the deadline, and we delivered a polished, on-brand magazine. The client was thrilled with the results—and later even sent me a box of cigars as a thank you. The following page shows one of the sections I designed.
Cover Concepts
The client supplied a strong library of high-resolution photography, giving me the opportunity to explore multiple visual directions for the cover. My goal was to respect the publication’s established identity while introducing fresh typography and personality. Presenting several concepts allowed the client to compare different creative approaches before selecting the final direction.
Interior Pages
Designing the interior pages required balancing large amounts of editorial content while maintaining a clean, readable layout. I worked with long-form articles, photography, sidebars, pull quotes, and recurring publication elements to create a consistent reading experience throughout the magazine. I designed approximately half of the publication, working closely with a freelance designer to ensure the finished magazine felt cohesive from cover to cover.
Although most of my previous experience had been with annual reports, brochures, advertisements, and marketing collateral, this project gave me the opportunity to apply those typography and layout skill across an entire publication.
This ended up being one of those projects where everything clicked. Once I got into a rhythm of it, and I really enjoyed working through the layouts and typography. The collaboration with the freelancer went very well, and It was a great feeling to see the whole issue come together. One of the best parts was to see how happy the client was the finished magazine.
