Amanda Smith
Graphic Designer
Info / CV
©2023 Amanda Smith
P006 → University Girl Magazine
Graphic Design Co-Director for University Girl, an on-campus magazine at Syracuse University.
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Role: Designer 👩💻, Illustrator ✍️, Writer 📝
Tools: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign
The story behind it all: 📖
My freshman year at SU, I got involved in UGirl. In the fall of 2019, I had not taken a single graphic design class yet so I worked with an older student in UGirl to design my first article. My freshman year spring and sophomore year fall were impacted by Covid as well as the production of the magazine.
Then, my sophomore year with two graphic design courses under my belt and a spring issue in the works, I designed a six-page spread for the “Parisian Picnic Dreams” photoshoot, a two-page spread on Covid, and a one-page spread for the “Cocktail” article which I also wrote.
My junior year fall I was in charge of designing all the photoshoot spreads for the issue. My junior year spring, I became the graphic design co-director — I designed the photoshoot spreads, assigned and oversaw the other designers’ articles, and worked with the other co-director to create the master file.
My passion for magazine and layout design started before UGirl but UGirl gave me the opportunity to experiment and furthered my understanding of how to create a magazine. From freshman to junior year, my designs improved and I felt more and more comfortable designing in Adobe InDesign. Using this knowledge, my senior year I stopped designing for UGirl and went on to create my own magazine — Sust House.