Vital Magazine
I was inspired to create this magazine because of my passion for all aspects of health. This project was the catalyst for pursuing design beyond my degree, which led me to enroll in Google's UX Design Certificate.
Planning the magazine
This project helped me gain experience using Adobe InDesign. From the early stages of planning and ideation, I had a vision for the magazine. I wanted it to come to life the way I was imagining, so I made the decision to use all of my own photos for the magazine. I arranged and photographed the shoot for the cover story and used other photos from my life and travels in other places in the magazine.
I named the magazine Vital because the word can mean two things, and both are applicable to the message I wanted to convey. Vital can mean "absolutely necessary or important" and "full of energy; lively", and I think this duality is the approach we as a society need to take when we approach the topic of health.
Execution
I was lucky enough to participate in design critiques that were "vital" for creating Vital. The feedback I received was crucial to my design process. There are so many small details that go into planning a magazine that it felt overwhelming at times, but refining the details is essential to the consistency and unity of the magazine's design.
I learned the importance of the hierarchy of information when creating a layout, how to create a cohesive color scheme, how to select appropriate fonts that are readable but create interest, and how to align elements to a base grid to create consistency.
Takeaways
Through this project, I learned the principles of design. I learned the importance of the hierarchy of information when creating a layout, how to create a cohesive color scheme, how to select appropriate fonts that are readable but create interest, and how to align elements to a base grid to create consistency. Most importantly, I learned how to incorporate feedback from others, how to pay attention to and refine details, and how to keep iterating on designs until the result is something that will benefit others.
