BMO
Supporting the Creative Economy – Editorial Art Direction
Role: Lead Art Director & Production Designer
Scope: Monthly Editorial Design, Brand Identity, Ad Creative, Pre-Press & Digital Publishing
Focus: Female Entrepreneurship & Local Small Business Advocacy
The Mission
The magazine was conceived as a high-end platform to bridge the gap between local small businesses and the community. By focusing on women entrepreneurs and lifestyle curators, the publication needed to feel like a "coffee table" staple—luxurious, inspiring, and professionally polished—to earn the trust of premium media buyers and high-value readers.
The Creative Strategy
As the Lead Art Director, I managed the entire visual lifecycle of each monthly issue. My goal was to create a cohesive editorial voice that allowed individual contributors’ stories to shine while maintaining a strict brand standard.
High-Impact Typography: I utilized a "Fashion-Forward" typographic approach. By pairing ultra-high-contrast Didone serifs for headlines with clean, minimalist body copy, I established a look that mirrors luxury titles like Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar.
Editorial Storytelling: For features such as "DIY Hair Masks" and "Organizing for a Large Family," I used dynamic grid systems. I focused on "the power of the void"—using strategic white space to let photography and key pull-quotes breathe, ensuring the reader felt inspired rather than overwhelmed.
Collaboration & Integration: I served as the bridge between editors, contributing authors, and media buyers. This involved designing custom advertorials for local businesses that felt like organic extensions of the magazine’s editorial content rather than jarring interruptions.
The Technical Execution
Beyond the aesthetics, I was responsible for the full production pipeline:
Digital & Print Mastery: Managed all pre-press color correction, layout bleeds, and file prepping for physical distribution, while simultaneously publishing interactive digital editions.
Brand Consistency: Developed a monthly "Visual Playbook" to ensure that even with different authors and photographers, the magazine maintained its signature "Tastefully Capturing Excessive Style" aesthetic.
The Results
Empowering Local Brands: Successfully featured and helped scale dozens of women-led local businesses by providing them with a professional media platform.
Advertiser ROI: Created a premium environment that attracted long-term media buyers, sustaining the publication's growth month-over-month.
100% Publication Rate: Managed a rigorous monthly deadline schedule from concept to "live" status without a single delay in the publishing cycle.
