Design
Page design is an absolutely vital component of any publication. The layout of a page can communicate key information, set the tone of a story, and even determine which articles people decide to read.
Only after joining the staff of my high school print newspaper did I realize the care and attention that is put into designing each and every page of Silver Chips. Each of the sample pages that follows took weeks of page drafts and revisions, from deciding whether to accompany articles with photographs, art, or graphics to creating aesthetically-pleasing themes.
This year, I was proud to serve as a Design Editor for Silver Chips. My role entailed teaching junior staff writers how to use InDesign, editing and revising page drafts, delegating design tasks based on staffers' varying strengths, and ensuring cohesion between writers, layout designers, photographers, and artists.
Only after joining the staff of my high school print newspaper did I realize the care and attention that is put into designing each and every page of Silver Chips. Each of the sample pages that follows took weeks of page drafts and revisions, from deciding whether to accompany articles with photographs, art, or graphics to creating aesthetically-pleasing themes.
This year, I was proud to serve as a Design Editor for Silver Chips. My role entailed teaching junior staff writers how to use InDesign, editing and revising page drafts, delegating design tasks based on staffers' varying strengths, and ensuring cohesion between writers, layout designers, photographers, and artists.
PDF page designs are linked to the images that follow.
I created this front page design for the April 2019 cycle of Silver Chips. In this issue, we focused a lot on student activism around Blair and the D.C. area, covering recent student protests related to climate change and gun control. The striking photograph I selected for the front page not only captures readers' attention but also highlights this focus. I also communicated with artists, photographers, and writers to select which elements and stories to include on the front page.
In this centerspread page design, I worked closely with our Silver Chips Art Editor to communicate my vision for the page. As the article was about traits that great teachers embody, I tried a fun take on the story: I used design to display the story in a video game theme. I asked the artist to draw a teacher "video game character," as well as "weapons" and "lives" to establish the theme. I met with the artist frequently throughout the design process to ensure that the elements all paired well together. I made sure that the shade of green used for the headline and subheads matched with the shade of green used in the art.
This page design was for a Silver Chips news story I co-wrote, "Community discussions question de facto segregation." While covering a boundary analysis study meeting, I took photographs of the event to include on my page (top center). Afterward, I created an infographic using Canva (bottom right) displaying relevant statistics to our story.
I followed the journalism "hand rule" while designing this page, meaning that if a hand were placed anywhere on the page it would come in contact with some sort of graphic (such as the photograph at the top, the window quote in the center, or the infographic at the bottom). This rule ensures that there are no overly-lengthy blocks of texts, which makes the article easier to read.
I followed the journalism "hand rule" while designing this page, meaning that if a hand were placed anywhere on the page it would come in contact with some sort of graphic (such as the photograph at the top, the window quote in the center, or the infographic at the bottom). This rule ensures that there are no overly-lengthy blocks of texts, which makes the article easier to read.
This page design was for a feature I wrote, "Translating the adult world." In this page design, I integrated the headline of my article with the accompanying photo of my subjects. This allowed for a more eye-catching page header. It also emphasized the two subjects that my story was centered around. I included art in the bottom right to follow the hand rule.
I also incorporated an art element on this page to make it more aesthetically pleasing and help break up text, making it more likely for people to read my story.
I also incorporated an art element on this page to make it more aesthetically pleasing and help break up text, making it more likely for people to read my story.