DESIGN
Design is my absolute favorite part of being a journalist. Being able to spend time and energy crafting something that looks good and engages readers makes me the happiest, and I am so glad that I get to share my designs with my community.
MAGAZINES
Shown above are the six magazines that I have produced as Editor-in-Chief at the time of submitting this portfolio. The first magazine on the top left was started and compiled my sophomore year by the Print Editor-in-Chief Audrey Enghauser and Print Managing Editor Chloe Sears. They worked vigilantly to get the magazine done, but unfortunately they ran out of time and it wasn't finished before the school year ended.
Over the summer, I was handed the hard-drive with the magazine files on it and was tasked with finishing, packaging, and distributing the magazine, all in a month. I had no idea what I was doing - at the time, I was a first-year editor with limited design experience, and I really struggled. I spent many nights that summer staying up late, looking up YouTube tutorials about how to use InDesign and bugging my dad to help me.
Though it seemed really scary at the time, I am so grateful that I was given the ability to learn about packaging and communicating with our printer because it brought me into my first year as EIC feeling more confident and ready to get to work.
Click on the magazines above to read the online editions on issu.com!
DESIGN PROCESS
Designing the magazine is one of my main jobs as EIC, but it isn't a one person job. The magazine layouts begin with just a sketch on printer paper and become the polished, finished magazine that gets distributed across the country, all with the help of my amazing staff. Below is a demonstration of my design process and how the magazine gets made!
SKETCHING
Most magazine designs start out as a sketch on paper to determine where the story will go, what kinds of visuals are necessary and what the page count will look like. Above is an example of one sketch I made for a layout!
ASSISTING
After the sketching process, I get started on my own layouts, like my Letter From the Editor, the cover and table of contents, and any other more complicated layouts that I am doing. Other than that though, the layouts get turned over to the section editors for them to execute and eventually send back to me.
During this period, I assist the section editors with any questions they have, give advice on what can be adjusted, and help them package the files to be sent to me. This part is definitely my favorite because it allows me to pass along my design knowledge and work really directly with my team to create something that they can be really proud of.
COMPILING
Next, the section editors send me the InDesign files for their sections when they are done and I compile all of them into my master InDesign document. This is where I spend time editing the layouts, making sure they fit and that they have all of the necessary elements. I add in the ads that our Business Manager sold, put in my column, adjust the page numbers and fill in any missing elements.
The video above shows what the magazine file looks like during this stage - everything is mostly there, but I am still missing a few elements, so this is the point where I go in and fill in the gaps.
CONVERTING
After I have everything compiled in my master file, it's time to adjust the images and get them fit for printing. During this process, I resize, adjust the lightness of the image to compensate for it printing darker, fix the resolution, make sure it uses the right color mode (CMYK) and convert to a TIFF file for each photo in Photoshop.
I then go back into InDesign and relink each image back where they go in the master folder, and all of my visuals are ready to go! This step is definitely the most tedious part of printing the magazine, but over the past two years, I have learned how to expedite and ease the process.
PACKAGING AND PROOFING
The final step of my design process is packaging the magazine and sending it off to our printer. The printer then sends me back a proof of the magazine, which I look through and leave edits on, and make sure everything looks the way it should. I then communicate with the printer any changes that need to be made, and after going back and forth a few more times, it's time to print!
DESIGNS
DESIGN AWARDS
Shown above are the designs that I have created for Volumes 19 and 20 of the ODYSSEY Newsmagazine. Many of these magazine designs won awards at the Southern Interscholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association, and Georgia Scholastic Press Association conferences, as well as at Ball State's J-Day competition. Listed below is the list of design awards that I have won in my career as a student journalist.
Ball State J-Day
Online News and Print Media, Print Feature / Entertainment Design, Large School, Superior: Molly Harwell, Wyatt Meyer, “Nowhere to go”
Online News and Print Media, Print Front Page Design, Large School, Honorable Mention: Molly Harwell, “Issue 1 ODYSSEY Newsmagazine”
NSPA
Design, Newspaper/Newsmagazine Page/Spread, 1st place: Molly Harwell for “Living the American Dream”
​
Design, Newspaper/Newsmagazine Page/Spread, 4th place: Molly Harwell for “Nowhere to go, number 2”
​
Design, Newspaper/Newsmagazine Page/Spread, Honorable Mention: Molly Harwell and Wyatt Meyer for “Nowhere to go”
​
Design, Newspaper Page/Spread, Honorable Mention, National Scholastic Press Association: Molly Harwell
​
SIPA
Newsmagazine, In-depth cover story package – First Place: Molly Harwell & Wyatt Meyer
​
Newsmagazine, Alternative storytelling – Second Place: Molly Harwell
​
Newsmagazine, Cover – Third Place: Molly Harwell
Newsmagazine, News package – Third Place: Maya Clement & Molly Harwell
​Newsmagazine, Table of contents – First Place: Molly Harwell
Newsmagazine, Table of contents – Third Place: Molly Harwell
Newsmagazine, Newsmagazine portfolio (up to four pieces from one individual) – Third Place: Molly Harwell
​
Click through the slideshow to see the designs!
SUMMER MAILER
At the end of the school year, before our annual summer workshop, the Editor-in-Chief designs the summer mailer - a short package with a Letter From the Editor, testimonials from staff members, and information about expectations and staff events.
This packet is sent out to all new and returning ODYSSEY staff members as a reminder of the year to come and as a way for the EIC to introduce themselves. To the left is my summer mailer that I designed for the 2023 summer workshop.
ODYSSEY POSTERS
At the beginning of this school year, my adviser asked me to help re-design some old ODYSSEY promotional posters to hang around the school. I was given the old InDesign files and asked to update them with newer photos of students and faculty.
I really enjoyed designing these posters because I was able to take something older and change it up a little bit. This was a great way to get back in the swing of designing at the beginning of the year, and I am very happy with how these turned out!
INFOGRAPHICS
%202.png)
.jpg)