SOJOURN

Knowing My Audience

The immediate audience for this project were meant to my grad school peers: students pursuing the Communication Leadership program at UW, Seattle. Ideally, they are expected to be well-versed in various communication and leadership practices, as well as hold knowledge of the 7 tenets of our grad program.

I chose the theme of the pandemic due to its relevance at the time. However, I wanted to do this with a positive spin so that people seek out opportunities in places they first saw loss.

Finding The Perfect Name

I was looking for a name that was short, easy-to-pronounce, complementary to the theme of social distancing, but with a positive connotation. After a heavy brainstorming session, I finally landed on Sojourn— a verb that means “to stay in a place temporarily”. 

The name was perfectly complementing the “temporary” nature of this social isolation, and worked as a reminder for my readers that this whole “staying in one place” business will soon come to end.

Content Mix Development

During the research, I looked into a variety of existing magazines like The NY Times, National Geographic Traveler, etc. for inspiration. However, due to the unique theme of my project as well as the unique audience base, I knew my design had to be unconventional. I had to account for the fact that the pandemic massively accelerated the trend for more informal content.

There was no room for commercial advertisements in my magazine, and hence, I needed engaging photographs or illustrations to go with clean open space and dynamic interior layouts. I mapped out a series of content pieces that showcased the “bright side” of social isolation as well as aligned well with my graduate programs’ 7 tenets. 

A Radiant Mix of Colors & Type

The magazine design promotes a vibrant & colorful palette to contrast the darkness associated with the pandemic, and bring attention to the “bright side” of it all.

I wanted for the typography to give the magazine a modern and appealing look. Here’s the index of different text styles and their specific uses.

Magazine Cover

I wanted the magazine front cover to walk hand-in-hand with the magazine’s title, Sojourn. I wanted to find a way to showcase stagnancy – the lack of movement– but also, highlight the “temporary” nature of this stagnancy.

So, I played around with a photograph I took of my white canvas shoes and made it gray-scale. It was plain, simple, stagnant, and almost sad– exactly what I wanted! 

Taking inspiration from sound waves, I added in candid strokes around the shoes using the pen-tool as if they were waves coming from the shoes itself, showing a want for movement. I used my colorful palette for these strokes to offer a contrast to the darkness of stagnant shoes, and add excitement to the anticipated movement.

Magazine Interior Spreads

The interior spreads of the magazine followed a mixture of two and three column grid structure. My design intentions were to make sure the layout & hierarchy are clear and each page is designed specifically different.

Millennials were a big demographic among my audience base which gave me sufficient flexibility in terms of bright colors, bigger fonts, and asymmetrical layouts. I envisioned a good balance of photos, illustrations, and content material.

Final Look & Feel

The final outcome of the magazine spreads looks cohesive because the visual hierarchy, color schemes and typography converge with each other well. I wanted to prioritize this hierarchy because it allows my readers a consistent flow of each page. Throughout the magazine, my color palette was used as an emphasis for the headline, as well as my illustrations. For the typography, the typefaces are a mixture of bold sans serif and decorative serif. These fonts are legible, modern, and “informal” at the same time.