Creative designer gives Weekly a fresh look
Photo by Jeff Watts
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For American Weekly designer Jel Montoya-Reed, the creative process never stops. “I’ll see a sign at the bus stop and think, ‘Hey that’s Futura font, I like that.’ Everyday, I see something that inspires me.” Montoya-Reed is the creative force behind the Weekly’s fresh, new look, which she perfected over the summer, experimenting with various mastheads and typefaces. “People now are very visual. I wanted to make the paper more visually interesting, without losing the stories,” said the designer, who came to AU a year ago. “Also, as the newbie, I wanted to put together a design that I’m going to enjoy working on each week.” Montoya-Reed, a graphic design major at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, particularly enjoys working on the paper’s page three feature story, as she likes the challenge of “visually enticing” the reader. The creative juices start flowing during Monday story meetings, where Montoya-Reed sketches her layout ideas on scraps of paper. “Every week is a new subject. It’s like I become a mini-expert on the subject each week,” said Montoya-Reed with a warm laugh. The native Filipino, who moved to Washington in 2001 to be with her husband, is also the designer behind the popular reprint books, collections of Weekly stories used as recruitment and marketing tools by AU schools and colleges. “The stories are being reprinted in a different form with a different objective,” she explained. “I’m proud that [administrators] saw the potential in the Weekly for a project like this. “The first reprint book I did was for SOC,” continued Montoya-Reed, who’s also designed books for the history department and SIS. “It started out as, ‘What a Fall Semester’ and became, ‘What a Year’ because there were so many good stories.” Montoya-Reed’s talents aren’t limited to design, however. Last semester, she was given her first reporting assignment to cover an SIS event with White House correspondent and AU alumnus David Gregory at the Philippine embassy. “It was different from what I’m used to doing, but it was fun, and I hope I can do it again,” she said. “I’m always up for a challenge.” Montoya-Reed’s also always up for a game of Ping-Pong. She initiated the University Publications “table tennis club” to bring more fun to the office. “I miss the sense of community back home, so I’m trying to bring that here,” said Montoya-Reed, who organizes lunchtime Ping-Pong matches and also assists in planning office parties and potlucks. “I try to spice up the office a bit.” The Adams Morgan resident said she also misses the warm weather back home.
“When I first moved here, I had weather shock,” she laughed. “And I still haven’t gotten over it!” —AF |
