The Great & Powerful LOCALE Magazine, Some Recent Design, & Eating Brains

[ LOCALE Magazine flanked by the Cycle Zombies - participants in our Summer Guide. Photograph by Jonah Gilmore, our wonderful photographer for our feature. ]

I've been doing a freelance design project with my sister Jennifer for a rad local OC magazine called LOCALE. It's a really nice 200 page, thick stock, perfect bound magazine with advertisers like Blue Moon and LA Club Sport and really fun and interesting local editorial - so it's basically every editorial designers dream - or at least mine. After working at a smaller publication for the last five years where our covers were paid for, our demographic was suburban moms, and our page count never exceeded 44 (our big dream was to one day have a perfect bound magazine), I am having so much fun letting my creativity run rampant on this project! 

The feature we're working on is a guide to summer in Orange County. It's full of how-tos, lists, interviews with OC celebs on their favorite summer memories, summer fun ideas, and summer playlists from local bands. I really want to post some of the design I've been working on for said project, but I will wait till it is printed to show you the end result. I will give you a little teaser and show you this little beer cap I created for one of the segments. I even made little dew drops! No skimping on the design here, folks.

[ © Amy Hood ]

Yep, just a foreshadow to the greatness to come in this feature. Which brings me to my next point: this feature can only be as great as we envision it with your help. We're compiling a list of "summer musts" and we want to pick your brain and steal some of your genius. That made me sound like a zombie. I promise I won't eat your brain - that's not what I meant. So what do I mean? I mean we want to know what your favorite things to do for summer in Orange County are so we can include it in our list. You know - those things/pastimes you have to indulge in every summer, without which, it's just not summer: going to the beach, riding your beach cruiser on the boardwalk, slip n' slides with your friends, getting a balboa bar at the Balboa Fun Zone... and the list goes on. If you feel inclined to lend your thoughts, leave a comment with your favorite things to do. 

You guys are diamonds.

- Amy

Listening to: Wilco's "Outtasite"

Wilco - Outtasite by WBRNewMedia