I began working for The Spectrum in the fall and had no idea what I was getting myself into. Being a creative person surrounded by all writers was a tough adjustment to make. While their main concerns were to create interesting and exciting content for people to read, mine was to make sure it looks good and that people can actually read it. I have to admit - it was not as easy as I thought it would be.
A lot goes into creating a newspaper. The life of a story begins with many phone calls, interviews, and sometimes quite a bit of investigating. Once it makes it to the first draft phase it moves on to the "alteration phase." This process allows desk editors to give some articles a makeover, some more than others, but the process doesn't end here. The second to last phase is the final tryout where it must face the toughest judges.
The editor in chief, senior managing editor, and managing editor must "OK" the story and decide its fate. If the story makes the cut it moves on to the final stage of its life, the layout phase. Now there's where I come in.
Margins, columns, font size, leading, kerning and a ton of formatting are in this story's future, and as any designer would know Adobe InDesign has become my best friend. Luckily, I don't have to share this burden alone. Co-Creative Director, Aline Kobayashi, is my partner in crime and my knight in shining armor. I entered this position knowing almost nothing about newspaper layout and only a little experience in graphic design all together. But I have grown since then and have everyone at The Spectrum to thank for that. I was given an amazing opportunity and have grown as a designer and a person because of it.
If there is one message I would like to leave readers with it would be that there is a lot more hard work and dedication that go into this student periodical than people think. I have seen great things come out of this office and it is all because of the talented people that work here. This office and every one that is involved in this paper has become my second family. I will never forget this experience and I hope to work in a similar environment in the future.
So look out, there are more great things to come from this student-run newspaper.
Email: nicole.manzo@ubspectrum.com
