For the past seven months, my creative media year group and I have been working on something incredible. Unlike any other student magazine that I know of or have stumbled across, Tag 2017 breaks boundaries in delivering exciting, unique and thought-provoking articles. From speaking with one of the most well-known body positive advocates, to interviewing music stars across the world, investigating cartoon conspiracies, covering various sport stars and interviewing men who wear makeup on a regular basis - Tag 2017 really is a magazine that I'm proud to say I've worked on.
I was lucky enough to undertake a role on the Executive Editor team alongside two of my peers, Chelsea Dawka and Oscar Williams. Together, the three of us briefed the Art and Design department on the front cover we wanted Tag 2017 to have, we met with clients/advertisers on a regular basis and we liaised with our client, the head of Marketing and Communications at our college. Not only did we do all of the above, but together we decided on the overall flow of the magazine, kept the Printer's Model up-to-date and worked day and night on ensuring everything was kept in order. Working in a small sub team was an incredible experience that taught me a lot about how well I can work in small groups of people, especially when they're as highly motivated as both Chelsea and Oscar. Before working together as a collective of Editors, the three of us had never really bonded as friends, but since working on Tag 2017 together, we have definitely formed a brilliant friendship.
Not only was I an Executive Editor, but I worked on a total of eight articles - which was perfect for me as I love writing more than anything and have high hopes of working within the journalism sector in the future.
NHS advertorial promoting sexual health
I worked on two pieces for the NHS, which was an incredible experience and something a little out of my comfort zone. The pieces I worked on tackled sexually transmitted infections such as Chlamydia and informing people about their local school/college health team. Working on the pieces for the NHS was amazing - it was so lovely to write about something that would never cross my mind to write about, it really stretched my writing abilities and has ensured that I'm a versatile writer. Working on these pieces meant I had to be mindful about the language in which I used as Tag's demographic is 14 - 19 year olds. I also had to liaise with NHS promotion officers and nurses, to ensure that the content I and the team working on this piece wrote and produced content that was accurate.
Body Positivity Interview with BodyPosiPanda
I also headed and wrote the main cover story, which was designed by Oscar - Body Positivity. We were told to write about hard-hitting stories that delivered a positive message and what could fit this more than Body Positivity? Body Positivity is a popular issue at the moment and I couldn't think of anything better to write about. I decided that interviewing Megan Jayne Crabbe AKA BodyPosiPanda would be amazing for Tag 2017. I was overjoyed when Megan agreed to the interview and couldn't wait to start writing the article. Megan and photographer, Becky Long, supplied me with photographs to use which were of the correct resolution (300 ppi). I also thought that Megan would make the perfect cover-star for this years edition of Tag 2017 - she's a brilliant role-model for young people, she promotes the most amazing message to women and men alike and she's quite high-profiled at the moment (she has almost 1 million Instagram followers and a she has just written her first book 'Body Positive Power), which is why I really pushed for this. I was so happy when the majority agreed with me!
Men & Makeup
I really wanted to ensure that Tag 2017 was on-topic and current with today's issues, which is why I thought that covering the topic, men who wear makeup, would be another great piece to write. I interviewed a close friend and rising social media star, Georgie Aldous, for an article exploring the topic, Men & Makeup. The gorgeous layout which was designed by Luke Gardner incorporates pink and blue, the most commonly used colours that represent the gender stereotypes. Georgie Aldous, verified beauty vlogger on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, spoke about why he believes men should appear on more makeup campaigns, as well as how he dealt with the online abuse he encountered for wearing makeup.
Dom&Ink interview
As Tag 2017 is targeted at young people, I wanted to write something that would inspire and motivate. I decided to write a piece focussing on one of my friends, Dominic Evans AKA Dom&Ink! Dom is an extremely talented illustrator who inspires thousands of people each day with his fabulously fresh illustrations relating to fashion, celebrities, beauty and positivity. I interviewed Dom on what inspires him, how he got into illustration and the steps he took to get recognised within the art and fashion worlds. I wrote and designed this gorgeous double-page spread - I used Dom's beautiful and super sassy illustrations to decorate the page and I think that the outcome is fabulous!
The Perks of Blogging
I adore blogging, as you all well know! Blogging is something I have done for three and a half years and I doubt I will ever, ever stop blogging - it's something I adore to pieces! I wanted to write another inspirational piece on achieving things, so I decided to write a short and concise blogging guide. Designed by Berta Cooper, I absolutely LOVE this page!
Another article I got the chance to work on was a review piece. Myself and Chelsea Dakwa got the chance to dine out at the bistro, take photos and write a brilliant, honest and objective review on the food and service we received - this was another great stretch for me, to show myself and future employers that I'm a versatile writer and I can cover a variety of topics.
My year group and I worked tirelessly on this magazine to create the most amazing piece of physical media that I could have ever imagined us produce. Gorgeous designs, layouts and spreads courtesy of our incredible design team; brilliant articles thanks to our dedicated editorial team; the magazine making it to the printers thanks to our sales team and advertisers; and a broadly distributed magazine with thanks to everybody who distributed.
What do you think of Tag 2017 from what you've seen above? Let me know in the comments below. I'd really love to know your thoughts.
* UPDATE * Tag Magazine 2017 is now available online! Check it out here!!
2 comments
Beautiful. Very cool pics:-)
ReplyDeletexoxo <3
Thank you so much, my love! - Mollie xx
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