branding, editorial design + web design

Scholastic

 

Overview

Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. They are the leading provider of literacy curriculum, classroom magazines and a producer of educational and popular children’s media.

Scholastic’s classroom magazines serve as teaching resources with multiple reading levels and activities to capture students’ attention while building skills. Receiving the magazines was a highlight for students because of the relevant stories, activities and topics, fostering a love of reading, boosting their literacy skills.

 

My role

I was the Sr. Designer in Scholastic’s Classroom Magazines department. Working closely with editors, photo editors, photographers, illustrators and our in-house audio/visual department, we created fun, educational resources in print and digital formats for teachers all over the country to supplement their classroom teaching experiences.

Together, our editorial team visited different classrooms in NYC boroughs to evaluate the effectiveness of the products we created. We spoke with educators to understand how our resources were being used and how we could improve upon the products to better serve our teachers and students.

I worked closely with photographers, art directed photo shoots and models, found and set up props on site, commissioned custom illustrations, conducted extensive photo research and designed editorial spreads, posters and teaching resources for a few classroom magazines.

 
 
 

Design thinking for education

How do we design in a way that makes teaching and learning, both fun and educational?

  • Write articles and stories at appropriate reading levels

  • Showcase content that is relatable to their age (ie: celebrities, topics, pop culture)

  • Engage students through print media as well as interactive content

  • Meet and consult with educators to assess what type of teaching tools are helpful

  • Stay relevant to the types of media, stories and news important to our youth and open discussions around important issues in ways students can participate in

 
 
 

Clifford magazine

This was an early-learning magazine for preschoolers, featuring seasonal curriculum themes. To engage our young audience, I utilized bright colors, playful typography, fun illustrations and imagery. I worked with many different illustrators to create fun scenarios to be featured in the magazine. I designed the editorial layouts and posters for Clifford magazine.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Scholastic News, Ed 1

This magazine inspires an early love for learning in first graders. The content focuses on science, social studies and social development topics. As with Clifford magazine, I created designs using fun but legible typography (catering to lower level readers), vibrant colors and imagery, as well as engaging illustrations. I was able to work with some amazing illustrators such as Saxton Freymann.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Logo design

Our creative department held a design forum to keep each other inspired and to keep each other abreast of design trends. This was a logo I created for the forum.

 
 
 
 

Web design

Redesigned the content heavy landing page for Clifford magazine, allocating the primary content area for a promo highlighting the magazine’s features. Login and registration modules are along the left side so that the main content important to visitors are in the F-shape for best UX practices.