So Social
Real Issues for Real Girls
Real Issues for Real Girls
So Magazine was the end result of my senior graphic design thesis. So was meant to be an educational magazine for pre-teen and teenage girls that tacked difficult topics in a cool, down to earth way. This edition was called So Social and dealt with various topics such as cliques, identity, social cognition, etc. I researched and wrote all the content, drew all the illustrations, and designed the layout and branding.
I would love to turn So Magazine into reality one day because I feel strongly that it has the potential to help teen girls develop into stronger individuals and address hard realities in a useful way.
I thought growing up was hard when I was a teen, but I see the media and pop culture that girls are bombarded with now and feel its even more important to arm them with knowledge, so as to counter the negative influences and help them make better decisions. Knowledge is power and So Magazine's goal is to give them that knowledge in a cool, non-biased way.
I would love to turn So Magazine into reality one day because I feel strongly that it has the potential to help teen girls develop into stronger individuals and address hard realities in a useful way.
I thought growing up was hard when I was a teen, but I see the media and pop culture that girls are bombarded with now and feel its even more important to arm them with knowledge, so as to counter the negative influences and help them make better decisions. Knowledge is power and So Magazine's goal is to give them that knowledge in a cool, non-biased way.
Example of one article's title page and a pull quote. All the illustrations were hand drawn and then colored using fabric patterns or flat vector colors. The visual goal of the magazine was to feel exciting and cool, with a touch of personality. The smaller size and hand-drawn type help to make it feel kinda like a diary or journal, attempting to make it more personal.
Example of one article's title page. All the articles in this edition were based around social cognition with a goal to help teens understand social identity and their need to fit in. I researched all the articles thoroughly and tried to write them in a down-to-earth, real life way to help teens understand complex ideas easily.
The goal was that if they could step back from their own experience and understand the grand scheme of social interaction, they may be better equipped to find their own identities.
The goal was that if they could step back from their own experience and understand the grand scheme of social interaction, they may be better equipped to find their own identities.
Sample of the quiz answer page. The quiz was 10 questions meant to gauge what social niche or group identity you may fit in. All the answers were set out as positive options, rather than making one better than any other. This would allow the teens to pick for themselves and make the magazine feel less biased.
Front and back covers. Roughly the size of a Readers Digest magazine, So Magazine was meant to be packaged with larger teen magazines, such as TeenVogue, or distributed as schools, psychologists, and doctors offices.
