Course Details

There is so much more to editorial graphic design than putting a pretty picture on a page with text. Lots of people know how to use Quark, but how many really have what it takes to stand head-and-shoulders above the other designers and advance in the art department? In this class, you'll learn the inside scoop on photo editing, typeface, illustration, working with editors (they didn't teach you this in design school!), and the art of the layout. You'll also be treated to intense instruction on how to shape your career so that can end up where you want to be. If you're a graphic designer who wants to transition to editorial work or if you're a junior designer pushing for a promotion, this class will show you how to internalize the influences all around you, turn a mediocre layout into a stunning one, and please all the editors all the time.

In this class, you can expect to learn:

• Photo Editing?making your desires clear to a photographer; creating a shot-list; talking to a photo house; finding free images; coming up with conceptual shoots for a story.
  
• Typeface?how to manipulate letters and numbers to create a hybrid of information and illustration; what you must do to keep a story readable
  
• Illustration?finding and communicating with illustrators; how to handle a sketch that's not what you asked for; how to pitch an illustration to a resistant editor.
  
• Professional development?the importance of professional organizations; how to take the influences of popular culture and allow them to inform your work without being derivative; how to get the awards and recognition you deserve?and need.
  
• Working with editors?resisting the urge to dismiss the desires of the wordsmiths, and working well with them to come up with solutions that have as high a word count as possible without sacrificing a solid layout
  
• The layout itself?building on your knowledge to constantly develop as a designer; how to toe the line between boring mediocrity and too-crazy layouts; how to be quiet, but effective; the basic elements of a layout that goes past "hmm, nice" to "wow, that's really great!"

By the end of class, students can expect to have:
An understanding of how to take your design career in the direction you want it to be heading; ability to create truly amazing layouts; knowledge of the way the business works, how to get ahead in it.

Admission requirements:
You must send a letter of interest to be accepted into this class. The letter must include your education, work history, and ambitions in art and design.

Instructor Bio

Currently an art director at Conde Nast Publications where he is overseeing a redesign of Parade magazine (circulation: over 35 million), Nick Torello brings over 15 years of experience in magazine design to his class. He has also art-directed and redesigned Golf Digest, and, before that, did a 6-year stint as Senior Art Director at General Media, Inc., creating groundbreaking layouts for OMNI, Mind and Muscle Power, Penthouse and Saturday Review magazines. He has consulted at Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, Redbook, and The Source, and was voted one of "Fifty People to Watch in 2002" by Graphic Design USA Magazine. He has won more than 50 design awards, from such organizations as the Art Directors Club, DESI, and the Society of Publication Designers, and has taught Editorial Design at the School of Visual Arts, of which he is an alumnus, for the past seven years. His students there consistently vote him the most difficult and the most rewarding instructor they've ever had. A native of Brooklyn, Nick is on a mission to stamp out mediocre design, and takes the term "boot camp" seriously.

Testimonials

Before taking Editorial Design Boot Camp with Nick Torello, I was an advertising art director for 16 years and a magazine publisher and designer of a small national magazine called ATOMIC for the past four-and-a-half years. I had won some magazine design awards in the past but was doing the magazine design based on gut instinct not any known rules or real-life experience (I'd never worked for a magazine ever). Because ATOMIC is my magazine, I knew I was designing in a vacuum and was in search of some professional advice to help hone my craft.
When I found out about the design class, I realized this was exactly what I needed to take me to the next level. And after the first week, I was even more elated about the format, which is very casual. Nick is quite talented, but cool and laid back. We all post our work on the wall and everybody speaks up to discuss one another's work. We've all learned, I think, that you need open discussion and trust in each other to push your design even further regardless of the various levels we're all at. Everybody in the class was supportive of each other and making constructive suggestions to help.
The one thing the class really drove home is the basic formatting of a magazine. Not restrictive rules, just basics that will help me on any assignment down the road. Because of Nick's obvious passion for type and design and fundamentals, I've found some objectivity toward my design, found reasons to place elements in specific places instead of just placing them somewhere because it's fine for now or the MAC placed it there, and how to pull back on my design. 'Can I put another dingbat in the corner, please, Nick????' 'Bad Jeff! Pull back!'
Since the class, my portfolio has become much stronger and I've found a renewed confidence in my design. After all, it's all about gaining self-confidence, isn't it?. -- Jeff Griffith, magazine founder and art director

This class allowed me to push my design to the next level and to better understand what it takes to design a magazine from cover to cover. There is a lot of work in a short amount of time, but if you're willing to work hard, you'll get a lot out of the class. Nick Torello is a consummate editorial designer and art director. He knows a lot about being an art director and isn't afraid to share what he has learned. He's very laid back, but he'll help you figure out where you want to go with your design." -- Satya Ornstein, design director, Wedding Dresses magazin