2021
11 weeks
Solo project
Visual Designer/ Illustrator
Unwind is dedicated to helping readers overcome personal challenges. Contributors will include people who are passionate about the mental well-being of themselves and others. Unwind is a place for people to read about ways to achieve mental peace. What we continue to want to remind readers is that you can find self-care amid the chaos of life. We believe that in the process of healing yourself, you change the world.
Create a magazine that offered people some ways to cope with a very unique set of circumstances we all collectively are experiencing.
I created a magazine with articles centered around building/sustaining connection, finding inner peace, mental health resources, and tips that were covid era-specific. Unwind, a self-care magazine gives people hope that they have tangible means to become their healthiest selves during a time of great uncertainty.
The authors of the articles included my friend Marisa Franco (a friendship researcher) and my sister, Malaka Friedman, a Ph.D. candidate who researches the way people communicate. By including people I know personally, I was able to put personal touches on the content as well as articles I know were beneficial.
In my career as a social worker, I found that people with the right tools can transform their lives. People who are connected, are better able to take on adversity when they are faced with life’s challenges. This informed my design approach to have tangible solutions in a digestible easy-to-read layout. I wanted to focus on usability and accessibility to have amble white space, as well as having a simple sans serif font.
The photos I choose for the layouts included people whom readers could relate to. I wanted to showcase a variety of body types and races to help readers connect. Additionally, I choose warm inviting imagery showing people relating to one another to inspire others about the possibilities of building/furthering connections.
Visual Designer/ Illustrator
I began the process by reading through self-care magazines such as Health, Psychology Today, Women’s Health, and Mindfulness Journal. I noticed the structure of the magazines and the content. From there, I did some research on layouts that were spacious and minimal to invoke feelings of calm. I used these layouts to create recipe cards for style elements with my magazine such as opening spread examples, article openers & pull quotes. My next step was to put together a mood board and create a design system for myself to follow. This helped me have consistency among the different spreads. The Magazine started to take shape after I figured out my wordmark. I like the flowy handwritten approach. I used those hand-drawn elements throughout the magazine to sprinkle personal touches.
Looking at self care magazines
Target audience
Layout recipes for articles
Create design system
The mood board consists of colors that are warm, comforting, and spacious. There are brush strokes in the word mark and also in the watercolor washes throughout the magazine.
We need friendship to enter life's many unknowns. This issue is dedicated to friendship because we need each other to get through the pandemic. So while you're working on finding self-acceptance, a friend can help remind you of your goodness. Friends help us become the most authentic version of ourselves. Like any human relationship, friendship takes work and isn't always perfect. We wanted to dedicate this issue to the pursuit of connection and its messy glory.
