Design

When I joined the newspaper journalism staff as a freshman, I thought it would consist of writing, reporting, taking photos and social media. I had no idea how much design would define my four years on staff. I have mastered Adobe InDesign. From cutouts to overlaying typography, I have looked for ways to create innovative designs for HHS Media's newspaper, yearbook and online sources.

Newspaper Design

Newspaper design was what I first stepped into as a sophomore. From cover designing to unique experimentation with special feature typography, I absolutely love it. When attending national conventions, I prioritized attending design classes and learned the ins and outs of Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, strengthening my skills. Additionally, when we switched to an all color paper, I sat down with my staff to discuss the best ways to use color. We considered where it would have the most impact and how it would best coincide with the standing elements I redid for the newspaper.

Yearbook Design

At the start of my sophomore year, with low staff retention rates post COVID, the yearbook and newspaper/online classes converged under one name. I really had no idea where to start, and neither did my staff. As just a sophomore, I began taking on a lot of responsibilities with the yearbook. My background in visual art propelled me into a leadership position within the yearbook, making font and color decisions and taking on a bulk of the pages. Last, year, I worked alongside Kasey Thompson (last years JOY national runner-up) to create the yearbook "This is Us and Only Us." This year I had complete control over all content decisions made and have worked tirelessly with my staff to create the most unique yearbook in our school's history.

The 2023-24 Yearbook Creation

The theme of the 23-24 yearbook is "Ready for it." After this year, Harrisonburg High School will split into two high schools. When I went to brainstorm the theme for this year's yearbook, my mind immediately drifted to covering the split and the fact that nothing would ever be the same again. However, I realized that by focusing on telling the story of the future, I would miss out on telling the story of this year. Instead, I focused on three main things:

1. Color: In the past we've shied away from using bright almost neon colors. HHS is a community of vibrant learners and the colors should showcase that.

2. Typography: I crafted the cover and other fonts completely by hand, creating my own Adobe font. The big, bold letters went hand-in-hand with the brightness of the colors.

3. Innovative Design: Our main yearbook critiques over the past three years have told us our design is boxy. We weren't looking for better ways to design, we were just looking for the easiest way to put content on a page. This year I created a wide set of threepeats to choose from and led a week-long design camp to avoid our past mistakes.

Concept

One thing I have had to learn about design is that it's never stagnant. Not only are the trends always changing, but sometimes the idea you had for a spread doesn't look good when it's actually on the page. However, my flexibilty is my strength. With a strong layout plan (see left) I've been able to revise and adjust as I design to hold true to the original concept, but also make the spread look "cool."

The Spread

Graphics

Graphics and illustrations are some of my favorite things to create because there is no "right" way to do them. Graphics allow me to experiment with the eye-catching yet informative elements of design. My favorite illustration I've done is the second from the left for my story on the women's rights protests in Iran. Hair was a symbol of bravery and strength from Iranian women during the protests, so I took the colors of the Iranian flag and turned it into hair. The graphic is appealing to the eye, but also showcases the resilience of Iranian women despite the repressive regime.

To the right you will see the cover of our first issue of the newspaper this year. It was a special edition regarding the impact of gun violence on my school and school's around the globe.

In the spring of 2023, HHS went into lockdown for two hours. In the end, everyone was safe, but it sent shockwaves through my community. Weeks later, a 17-year-old student at my school was killed in an act of gun violence. Again, I watched my community grapple with the loss that gun violence in America has caused. I knew that with my platform came privilege, and we had to do something.

It resulted in a 50-page newspaper with a special feature section on gun violence. The section held perspectives from admin, parents, students and teachers, as well as a school-wide survey and reports of protocol reform. However, I knew to really make a change and inform our readers, infographics would be the smartest way to go. They provide important information in a more palatable way for readers. Instead of reading a text-heavy story they can read a simply-worded bullet point. If you click through the photos on the right, you will notice the five infographics I helped design to be included throughout the special feature section.

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