Editorial Design
New Zealand Cycling Journal & Mountain Biker
Turning stories into engaging experiences by creating unique identities through design.
Role
Design & Illustration
Pre-press production
Tools
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
InSite
For readers of Pedal Press’ sister publications, cycling is a passion.
A bike is an extension of a rider’s personality, a trail is a road to their “happy place” and the sport is what they live and breathe.
In early 2019, my task as the newly appointed editorial designer was shifting both NZ Mountain Biker & Cycling Journal magazines away from their outdated, pre-set templates to largely customised formats, adapted to suit the content theme of each issue.
I viewed this as a challenge to bring each article to life, using design as a means of creating unique layouts that expressed a content in a way that was both engaging to readers and an extension of the sponsoring brand’s identity.
The learnings
Things don’t always go to plan.
Content arriving on print day, proofreaders being unavailable and late advertisements are all print predecessors which create unexpected time pressures. Having well-practised processes in place to complete tasks within tight time constraints is critical.
Mistakes happen. Learn from them.
Whilst print production is a (almost..) well oiled machine, a couple of unmissable mistakes were printed in my initial issues. I learnt very quickly that mistakes can either break you as a designer, or their learnings can be applied positively to future work to improve workflow and output quality.
Communication and feedback is key.
It’s important to ask questions when uncertainties arise. This reduces the scope of rework which could be avoided through clarification.