the daily illini
skills
timeline
overview
the daily illini is the independent student newspaper at the university of illinois (since 1871!) i worked here for three years: i started as a designer, and worked my way up to managing editor for visuals. i created a visual identity for "best of cu", wrote and designed a style guide for staff, and of course: designed pages and covers for the weekly print paper.
weekly newspaper
every sunday, all of the editors would get together and work on the weekly print edition. i spent the day designing pages, editing photos, and copyediting stories. it was high-pressure, but i learned a lot from managing a team and working with such quick deadlines. you can view the papers i led the design of here, from 3/22/22, to 3/8/23.
best of cu
every year, the daily illini surveys the community and creates an issue covering the best spots in town and on campus. i was tasked with creating the brand identity for this edition. i used a monochromatic color scheme to align with the buzz's visual identity, and utilized our existing type system to create a brand that looked more modern and sleek than our typical weekly papers. i created designs for social media, stickers, and created a special edition template for our designers to work with on indesign.
style guide
before i left my position, i knew i wanted to create a guide to all things di. i wrote and design a book detailing everything i could to assist future staff. the brand has changed a lot over the years, and i know there's strength in consistency. the style guide covers the essentials of maintaining our brand, typography, and basic graphic design principles. i especially emphasized readability as a priority for our audience.
newsboxes
i had the opportunity to design two newsboxes. this newsbox features all of our previous mastheads, collaged together and recolored to resemble newsprint. here's a photo of me standing next to the finished product on green street!
