Creative Direction, Art Direction, Graphic Design

Like most pediatric hospitals, Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital produces a seasonal magazine that showcases its latest achievements and tells donors how their contributions are being used. In 2015, I completely redesigned the magazine from the ground up, creating a printed piece that translated into a digital format. Although the old publication was titled Wee Believe, the marketing department rechristened it Amazing to tie into the children’s hospital’s new slogan: “Kids are amazing. We’re doing amazing things for them.”

Throughout the creative process, I asked pediatricians and administrators what they thought the magazine could be. Ideas included a recruitment piece for new residents, articles for parents, donor appreciation, and the latest health news. As the marketing department and I matched content to a visual style, we agreed that the magazine shouldn’t look like a corporate health care promotion; it needed to be a playful, vibrant publication with helpful, interesting content people wanted to read. Digital extensions would include special videos, infographics, and blog content, with internal illustrations adapted to web images.

The spreads shown here demonstrate the variety of content any given issue includes, as well as the colorful layouts for feature stories. The visual style is unified through a broad-yet-consistent color palette, as well as controlled eclecticism. Illustration styles, grid structures, and typeface families maintain a specific look for the magazine. Even the masthead hints at the whimsical design inside the cover. As a result, the publication is appropriately playful, but never anarchic or inconsistent.