Company: Green Building & Design Magazine
Role: Art Director
Duration: Spring 2015 to Summer 2016
Building a better world, one page at a time.
Green Building & Design magazine is an architecture and design publication focused on sustainable building practices. As Art Director, I evolved the presence of gb&d, ushering the print magazine into the digital world, while managing the design of each issue, supporting marketing and sales and working on other company initiatives.
Running a well-oiled machine
My main role at gb&d was to oversee the design and production of the physical print magazine, working with clients to create a visual narrative for each story and corresponding marketing campaign, curating imagery/commissioning photoshoots, as well as transitioning all design and content onto our digital properties for each issue. It was magical to see each issue come to life, and especially rewarding when the shipment of books would come to the office and we’d unbox our work.
Designing for two mediums
Like many print magazines in today’s world, having a corresponding digital presence is imperative, but this never took away from the commitment to create a beautiful printed piece. I worked closely with 20+ clients per issue, ensuring we had a solid foundation for the visual story of each feature. Working as a pair, gb&d’s managing editor and I spent countless nights figuring out things like design direction, pagination and cover image selection, to name a few. I commissioned and art directed multiple photoshoots, sourced imagery and concepted designs for each client. When it came time to send the magazine to print, I worked with our printer to ensure proper file delivery, review of proofs, providing any feedback on edits and closing the loop once the magazine had been delivered.
Once we sent the magazine to print, I immediately focused my attention on transitioning all content to our digital channels. This included uploading the magazine to our mobile app, formatting stories for the website, infusing content into a weekly newsletter and creating content for our clients’ integrated marketing campaigns.
Ushering the magazine into the digital world
When I first started at gb&d, the company was just beginning to build out a roadmap for its digital presence. I helped usher the magazine online by researching and designing a mobile app solution, working hand-in-hand with a developer to build out a new website, publishing each issue’s content on various sites and creating a branded newsletter.
Art direction and visual storytelling for clients
It was always important for me to show clients in their best light while keeping a hight standard of design for the magazine. In cases where imagery was sparse, low-quality or non-existent for a client, I would research and commission a local photographer to shoot for their business, product or service. In doing so, I would plan, budget and art direct the shoot, providing a shot list and coordinating schedules, as well as managing contracts, communication and final assets. I also found alternative creative solutions in situations when we could not secure imagery for a given story.
Supporting marketing and sales
I wore a lot of hats at gb&d, and this included being a solutions architect for the marketing and sales teams. The spectrum of requests was wide, but I strategized, concepted and designed things like media kits, sales decks, trade show assets and customer outreach materials.
Designing for other company initiatives
The year I was at gb&d, we launched branding for the Women in Sustainability Leadership Awards. This award recognized the accomplishments of women who are leaders in the sustainability space—and included a dedicated feature in the magazine, a spotlight online and an in-person awards ceremony held in Washington, D.C.
I was tasked with creating the identity for WSLA, developing out a web presence, working with a wood craftsman to design the award, developing out all marketing materials, liasoning with an events solutions company for AV and run of show, as well as executing event photography for the ceremony.
This is just one example of many company initiatives that I led design and strategy on.