![\"\"](\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\")
Students in the Master of Arts in Strategic Design program work on a project in a publication design workshop led by writer and publisher Blair Knobel \u201903. \/ Credit: Blair Knobel<\/p><\/div>\n
Knobel began planning the issue in June 2023, and when she was approached later that summer to lead the MASD workshop in the fall, she was inspired to throw \u201ckind of a curveball,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She provided the raw materials \u2013 text and image files \u2013 of one of the features slated for Vessel\u2019s next issue, a profile of Nashville singer-songwriter Phillip Lammonds by Greenville-based author and writing teacher Scott Gould. They had just under 24 hours to create a six- to eight-page layout using Adobe Photoshop and InDesign, tools \u2013 and deadline pressure \u2013 familiar to many professional designers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted students to have the opportunity to create a feature magazine spread for their portfolios during the workshop,\u201d said Marta Lanier, director of the MASD program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t give them a lot of direction, because I was curious to see how they interpreted the assignment,\u201d Knobel said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlair told us to take it and run with it,\u201d said Megan Neil \u201921 M\u201924, who is planning a career in graphic design or art direction. \u201cWe were all given the same thing, and everybody\u2019s designs looked completely different. Afterward, we all talked about what was working and what wasn\u2019t working. We got some good feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n
Making it flow<\/h3>\n
Knobel also challenged the students to create their own magazine concepts complete with cover design and sample article, said Neil, who pitched a plant-themed publication named Vert.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned a lot about how to make it flow,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re trying to fit a bunch of pictures and text on a page, it can be really overwhelming,” she said. “Adding image captions and pull quotes as entry points for the reader are things I had never really thought about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students walked away with a great foundation in creating the articles,\u201d said Lanier. \u201cOutside experts and professionals are a huge part of the MASD program. Students need this interaction to better understand industry standards, learn new skills and begin to build their own networks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Knobel’s professional network might be growing as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe talent that I saw was inspiring,\u201d she said. \u201cThese students are going to be in the professional world very soon, and frankly, I think I could feasibly hire some of them right now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Blair Knobel \u201903 shared insights from her 20-year career in editing and publishing, presenting the students a hands-on challenge inspired by the launch of her new print magazine, Vessel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":28417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,78,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","category-strategic-design","category-top-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2023\/10\/Blair-Knobel-workshop.jpg\")