An experience of a lifetime: how being editor of Loudly Magazine at Kingston University transformed me

Not many people can say they’ve been sub editors and reporters for an online magazine—but I am one of the lucky ones who can. During my studies at Kingston University, I was fortunate enough to be the copy editor and a contributing writer for Loudly Magazine, a brand that I’ve created together with my incredible colleagues.

It wasn’t easy, that’s true. Sub editing everyone’s articles and also making sure I published quality articles regularly was a time-consuming and sometimes overwhelming task, especially at the beginning. However, it was also incredibly enjoyable and exciting, as I got to edit and write something new every week, and it challenged me to push myself in terms of writing for online and get more experience in this area.

 

Picture taken by me for my article on a Black History Month event published on Loudly Magazine

There’s obviously still room for improvement, but I think I did a good job at being both sub editor and writer for Loudly. As the sub-editor, I did my best to make sure the copy was free of any grammatical or spelling mistakes and constantly used the style guide for reference—and it paid off, as most of the articles were published without any mistakes. 

As a contributor, I covered a variety of topics that were tailored for our audience, the Kingston students--from lifestyle (for example, the article on Kingston’s three best cafes) to politics and environment. I wrote in a concise manner (my articles were generally 350-400 words long) which is specific for online publications and I wrote them regularly to maintain a good rhythm and keep the audience engaged and interested constantly.

One of the pictures I took, used in the online article on the best cafes in Kingston

If there’s one thing I regret, is possibly my lack of involvement with social media. While we did have a designated editor handling this task, I should’ve played a more active role and interacted with the audience through Facebook and Twitter more. 

Overall, this has been an incredible experience that has taught me a lot about being a multimedia journalist and I will treasure it forever.

A crazy creative adventure: My experience creating my own magazine cover

We all love and admire all the beautiful magazine covers every time we pass by a newsstand. But not many people can say they know how to make one. Well, I’m one of the lucky people who had the opportunity to learn how to create magazine covers and while I’m not a pro, I feel confident I can create professional looking covers for all types of magazines.

Over the years spent at university, I learned a lot about creating magazine covers, and I’ve poured all my knowledge, experience and passion for this in my last cover for a fictional health and wellness magazine for seniors. Named Ambrosia (after the god’s drink that gives immortality), this magazine concept and cover was born after seeing there was no magazine targeting this audience. Thus, I decided to make this my mission.

My finished magazine cover

As it is a health and wellness magazine, I wanted it to be light and full of happiness. This is why I chose this specific photo, as well as the colour scheme. I wanted the magazine cover to send an essential message: that you can feel young at any age, and I think my choice of cover image and the overall theme clearly suggests that and I believe it fits with what my target audience is looking for.

However, there are definitely areas I can improve on, one of which is creating the cover lines. While I do believe the chosen ones are suitable for the publication and would attract readers, I feel like they could be more clever. The same goes for the technical side; while I tried to keep the fonts and colour scheme simple to make the cover lines easier to read, I believe I could’ve done a better job at making them stand out more and be more special and attractive.

Although there’s definitely room for improvement, I’m proud of the cover I designed and it shows my evolution as a designer and also my love for magazines.