SOAR

During my first year at university, I was approached by senior lecturer Kev Jones. He suggested I join the ranks of a new unnamed journal created by the university. It was to be a celebration of student research from the School of Arts. A curated selection of extracts from highly-graded final-year or Masters student essays would be proof read, references checked, then published into a printed publication for distribution at events and within the university. Initially reluctant due to inexperience with layout design, I agreed to join the other two student editors to improve my skill base.

Through the first issue, I helped devise the name SOAR (School of Arts Research) journal. I designed the logo, aiming to create the image of a folded paper plane soaring through the logotype. The lead lecturer Teresa Forde and I then presented the journal to the rest of the university in a showcase event. The Dean celebrated our work, suggesting it should become international and freely available online.

Of course it should go without saying that the artwork and essay extracts on this page are the property of each author. I have included their front spreads only so that their names and disciplines are visible for credit.

In the following issue, I was asked to become Lead Editor for the publication. I accepted, knowing this would create a more consistent design language throughout the journal - something we sought to improve for this second issue. The two editors working alongside me were communicative, receptive to feedback, and I made sure to keep our relationship a collaborative one, rather than hierarchical. The journal's second issue was a huge success.

Part of my responsibilities I took very seriously was the design of the cover. I found that no single piece of student artwork was more successful than any other. It felt right to use one student's work as a template to contain all others. The strong visual gave our second issue a strong identity, and made a bold statement in the face of all visitors and readers in the university.

For the third issue, I continued on as the Lead Editor with a new rotation of student editors to work alongside. We found such success that we were able to publish the journal on the University of Derby website. Now that members of the public could freely view the work of our students, there was a great imperative to drive feet through the school of arts doors.

My favourite part of working in this medium and on this journal, is the ability to read each extract and champion the voice and artwork of each artist individually. Choice of typeface, hero image, colour palette, hierarchy, and how to lead the eye down the page without adding any undue difficulty - all were so fulfilling. I have learned so much from my three years working on this journal, and I am still eternally grateful to Teresa and Kev for giving me the opportunity to develop these skills, and to learn more in a leadership role.