MAGAZINE PUBLICATION
I was initially hired as a graphic designer for Dead On Design, and was tasked mostly with the magazine and publication work for M3. After refining and updating the looks of the two main monthly publications; North Fork Real Estate Showcase, and Hamptons Real Estate Showcase, I began to rework the production system and workflow for publication. Both of these publications were very demanding and staff power was limited.
Warning: This is where things get a bit nerdy. After creating the initial publication layouts I created a series of character and paragraph styles, template files, master pages layout options, library items, and finally a style guide. I then trained their design employees in using these tools as well as InDesign Book compilations and I trained the editorial staff on using Adobe InCopy. After a few weeks of adjustments we were now able to prep the average issue of either magazine in about 3 days; less than half of the two weeks worth of time that it had taken when I came on board.
Online Presence /
Additional Projects
With the time saved by the design team creating each issue of the magazine, a stronger web presence could be established. In the past, an entire second version was being created to post online in PDF form. With the new system I put in place, the same versions of the file could easily be exported and automatically uploaded to Issuu.com. In addition, we began promoting the magazines with a blog that highlighted one or two editorials from each issue, and pushed all of this content on social media. All of this was now manageable in the time that was saved in the magazine workflow.
After creating this new publication and online media system for the agency and training the employees I was free to apply my design skills to other projects within the company. These included an updated media kit reflecting our new publication work for M3 Media Group, branding and identity jobs, creating pitch decks for new clients, web designs and more.
