Jerk Magazine is the premiere student-run publication at Syracuse University focusing on culture, music, and style. The magazine releases a semi-monthly print magazine and publishes digital articles weekly. I started at the magazine as a digital illustrator and then worked my way up to a creative director.
Roles: Creative Director, Digital Design Director, Designer, Illustrator
Client: Jerk Magazine
Creative Direction
As a creative director, I worked to create consistency across the spreads and between the issues by strengthening the page organization and developing a strong stylistic approach. My co-director and I established an improved logo, new typography system, and color scheme. We also refreshed the designs for all recurring pages.
During my time as a creative director, I oversaw the art and design for the November, December, March, and June print issues.
To begin crafting our creative vision for Jerk Magazine, my co-director and I constructed a design brief that included Jerk's objectives, audience, message, and brand/visual voice words. We aimed to honor the sentiments and values of previous issues while adapting the aesthetic to our styles. From here we developed a mood board, color scheme, and typographic system, and modified the logo.
Visual Voice Words:
Bold
Dynamic
Vibrant
Arresting
Human
Eclectic
Diverse
Brand Voice Words:
Free
Funky
Unique
Honest
Striking
Original Logo
New Logo
Spread Design
Throughout my time at Jerk Magazine, I was also involved with illustrating and designing for individual articles.
The Real Flavor of Syracuse Opening Spread
The Real Flavor of Syracuse Spread
Article Illustrations
Social Posts
Below is a sample of posts I designed for the magazine's Instagram account @jerkmagazine.
World Autism Awareness Day
Jerk is Hiring
Podcast Promo
Black Lives Matter
Print is Hiring
Jerk is Hiring
Covid Safety
Black History Month
Web Article Illustrations
Below is a sample of digital illustrations I created for the Jerk Magazine website.
