I am a
I am a
HOT SH*T
SPRING 2020
PUBLICATION DESIGN
A MAGAZINE DESIGNED TO PROMOTE SELF COMPASSION FOR TEENS
TASKS
HOT SH*T is a magazine targeted towards young women who can have difficulties with insecurities and believing that they are enough. This magazine serves as a platform for those girls and a reminder that they are indeed, hot sh*t.
Illustration
Typography
Writing
Photography
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User Problem
Social media can be a scary place for young women. For young girls specifically, they see other girls with these physical traits being praised upon. There is no problem for praising and supporting other women. However, social media can be damaging when others are put down because they don't have those specific physical traits or because they're "trying too hard" or "aren't trying hard enough." The list can go on.
How can we make young women feel comfortable with expressing themselves?
Design Challenge
Process
HUMAN RESEARCH
Two interviews were conducted with two high school teens. I asked them questions about confidence and their experiences with it. I got a mixture of both positive and negative responses. The positives showed me that they get the concept of self love and individuality. The negatives showed me the lack of self compassion that some can have.
Q: What does it mean to stand out?
“I try to not look like anyone else...It’s like people who are like very inspired by Kylie Jenner. Kylie Jenner is very pretty but like why do you achieve to look the same like there is no individuality.”
Q: What does it mean to be confident?
“Feeling good about myself and getting praise and hype from other people”
Q: When have you felt most confident?
“Never. I literally always hated myself...I feel ugly Im not pretty I’m not smart I’m a disappointment.”
PRODUCT INSPIRATION
The inspiration behind the product of a magazine came from the book "Milk and Honey" by Rupi Kaur and from the "Social Media Seriously Harms Your Mental Health" phone cases. "Milk and Honey" is a popular book among the teens because it turns stories of love, heart break, and loss, into an artistic piece. The phone cases act as an accessory and a strong reminder. Like these products, I wanted to design something both visually pleasing and that held a strong message close to heart.
"Social Media Seriously Harms Your Mental Health" Phone Case
"Milk and Honey" by Rupi Kaur
SKETCHES
For my creative direction, I wanted to go towards something that came off as both bold and playful. I knew I wanted to include an illustration for the cover that depicted confidence and individuality. In addition to that, I included a department page dedicated to your everyday teen girl, giving them a platform, and a feature page going all in on the importance of self-compassion.
NAMING/BRANDING
Final Product
With this bold, physical publication in hand, it can hold a reminder that there is a focus and importance towards these girls. For my final product, I included the "asterisk" (*) into my branding. Along with the symbol being apart of the name, I felt it could also work as a brand icon. The asterisk is commonly used to either draw attention to a footnote of some sort or to cover up "inappropriate" words. In this case, I felt it was a perfect visual piece to represent the girls that are deemed as "inappropriate" and that the attention should be drawn towards them regardless of their look.
Describe your image