Signatures Magazine is an annual curated art and literary magazine showcasing the strongest submissions of photography, illustration, design, poetry, and short stories created by RIT students regardless of their programs of study.
I was the Design Editor for Signatures 37 from 2021-2022, after serving as Co-Editor for Signatures 36 and being on the design team for Signatures 35. Throughout the year, I directed the design team and collaborated with the literary editor to develop our style and direction.
I was the Design Editor for Signatures 37 from 2021-2022, after serving as Co-Editor for Signatures 36 and being on the design team for Signatures 35. Throughout the year, I directed the design team and collaborated with the literary editor to develop our style and direction.
Featured art above by Selena Eyob
Featured art above by Kelly Jin
The team wanted the 37th issue to strike a balance between the sophisticated, clean designs of our most beautiful issues to date and the exploratory lightness and liveliness of our recent issues. The path to this fresh take on Signatures would require a high volume of submissions to allow for a highly selective process.
In crafting the magazine, we allowed our chosen submissions and our intuitive layouts to guide our final theme which ultimately could be interpreted in a multitude of ways by our readers. The Signatures team reflected on our own personal interpretations of the theme of our book, and found a number of answers just amongst ourselves. These thoughts are shared in the Letter from the Editors at the beginning of Signatures 37.
Transitioning to a new faculty advisor
When navigating the transition to a new faculty advisor, the team leads had to juggle new responsibilities previously handled behind the scenes by our previous faculty advisor, including communicating with the printers and managing submissions and team timelines more closely than in previous years.
Navigating a tight timeline
Due to COVID-19, the past two years did not allow for our usual launch at the annual Imagine RIT Innovation and Creativity Festival. This year, we wanted to celebrate our return to the festival by ensuring the new book was ready to launch, which meant working on a tighter schedule unfamiliar to the team.
Creating a sophisticated look and tactile experience
The team aimed to elevate the publication to a higher level of sophistication and an aesthetically pleasing experience. We chose to make a return to the Signatures traditional choice of Garamond for the written works, and introduced Basteleur, a fresh typeface choice, for the titles and folios. We curated the content of the magazine by accepting fewer art pieces than we usually do to give the layouts room to breathe, as well as striking an even balance between the accepted visual art pieces and written works. The finished soft cover book is a comfortable 8"x10" size and includes a 12-page booklet insert.
Featured art above by Mikayla Bader
