The Gateway Magazine

The Process

Summary

The school’s biannual magazine was an expensive, outdated project with no clear goals. I spearheaded a project to give the magazine new life and purpose.

Context/Problem

Gateway Seminary has been producing an annual magazine since the 1970’s. The project has been passed down to each new director of communications without much adaptation. The overall look and collection of content was outdated and arbitrary as the magazine lacked thematic direction. I began asking why we produce a magazine and who our target audience is supposed to be. These questions sparked discussions that led to a repurposing of the magazine; from general news and press releases to evergreen and engaging content that showcased Gateway faculty, students and the school’s relevance in culture.

Solutions

My main objectives for this project were to define the main purpose of magazine, redesign its look, collect new assets, and establish types of engaging content. The purpose was redefined to display critical reflections of the Gateway community on relevant cultural issues occurring in Southern California and the global stage. In order to create assets that accomplished this purpose, I began photographing important cultural events - the impromptu memorial to Kobe and Gigi Bryant, Black Lives Matter Marches and Demonstrations, and The George Floyd Interfaith memorial rally in DTLA. I then recruited our Southern California faculty and students to write stories about these timely cultural issues and phenomena. Some examples of prompts I provided for our writers were, “How do we cope with the death of a hometown icon” and “Where is hope in the American struggle with racism?”. The magazine shifted from press releases and news articles about school to critical reflections of the Gateway community on current events affecting the local and global population.