SES Magazine

Overview

SES Magazine appeared in coordination with conferences in five international markets; these events drew a total of over 5,000 digital-marketing professionals per year. (The SES, or Search Engine Strategies, conference series was later rebranded as ClickZ.) I redesigned the publication, establishing consistent typography and layout.

I produced 15 issues, executing the design as well as editing copy. Visit the SES page at issue.com to view them (see the issues dating from May 2011 to October 2013).

Go back to see samples of covers.

View an infographic I created for the magazine.

Selected Work

Before and After: Table of Contents

The revised layout has more even spacing and a refined type treatment. By increasing the leading, setting a baseline grid, and using a full-width rather than a condensed font, I made the blocks of text more readable and visually pleasing.

Before

A table of contents from SES Magazine that appeared before I redesigned the publication.

After

A table of contents from SES Magazine that shows my redesign.

Before and After: One‑Page Article

The elimination of unnecessary stock imagery opened up space for content. I increased the leading, which permitted the type to breathe, and adhered to a baseline grid. I also established a hangline for the copy; this created both white space and room for a subhead. The result is a much more accessible and professional-looking page.

Before

A one-page article that ran in SES Magazine before I redesigned the publication. The article is titled 'Does Latino Marketing Deserve a Bigger Pie?' It shows a stock photo of a pie.

After

A one-page article from SES Magazine that shows my redesign. The article is titled 'The Long Tail of Latinos on Twitter.'

Before and After: Feature Article

The first page in the “after” example shows a more sophisticated use of stock art (due to budgetary limitations, I could not commission original pieces). It has a more subtle headline treatment and a narrower, more readable column of type. On the second page, I avoided unnecessary imagery, allowing for comfortable white space and leading. The baseline grid is consistent.

Before

The first page of a feature article that ran in SES Magazine before I redesigned the publication. The article is titled 'Reaching the Mobile Shopper: Before, During, and After the Big Sale.' It shows a stock image of a mobile phone wheeling a shopping cart.

After

The first page of a feature article from SES Magazine that shows my redesign. The article is titled 'Keeping Score in Connected Marketing (Once Pepperoni Pizza at a Time). It shows vector art of a pizza and of icons having to do with marketing and social media.

Before

The second page of a feature article that ran in SES Magazine before I redesigned the publication. A large part of the page is taken up by a stock image of a shopping cart.

After

The second page of a feature article from SES Magazine that shows my redesign. There is no stock art, only text and white space.

Before and After: Agenda

With the maroon background limited to the header, the redesigned page is cleaner. I used color to denote content tracks, making the agenda more comprehensible at a glance.

Before

A conference agenda that ran in SES Magazine before I redesigned the publication. The agenda is in the form of a table. The background of the page is deep red, and it includes large pixelated graphics in orange, blue, magenta, black, and white.

After

A conference agenda from SES Magazine that shows my redesign. The deep red is limited to the very top of the page. There is a clean, white background, and the agenda is subtly color coded to denote content areas.

Before and After: Sessions

Again the type is more elegant and approachable thanks to the baseline grid and increased leading. As in the agenda above, color coding indicates content tracks. I removed the superfluous clock graphic.

Before

A page describing conference sessions. It ran in SES Magazine before I redesigned the publication.

After

A page describing conference sessions. It shows my redesign of SES Magazine.

Before and After: Sponsors

I eliminated the colored boxes that distracted from the important elements—namely, the sponsors’ logos. By moving the logos to the right edge of the columns, I better utilized the space and improved the flow of type. I made the same typographical enhancements that I discuss above.

Before

A page describing sponsoring companies. It ran in SES Magazine before I redesigned the publication.

After

A page describing sponsoring companies. It shows my redesign of SES Magazine.