I’m in an odd situation…
Hewlett-Packard is starting a quarterly entrepreneurial magazine for its investors and one of my professors is going to be the Editor-In-Chief. He’s asked me to be on staff (I get internship credit), but since it’s a start-up magazine my roll is self-determined.
As the Editor-In-Chief of the student magazines I’ve been on, I’ve done photography and design but they already have a layout designer and a photographer. He said I could manage them as an Art Director but I think if I push for more I can get it.
What exactly does a publisher do? Or an Editor-At-Large? My only discontent with Art Director is that I’ll probably cross over to editorial a little as far as direction of the magazine and its look.
-Matt
Well, how big is it, really?
If you’re not anyone’s deputy, you can’t be a deputy art director. If you are a student heading up a team of students, then feel free to call yourself the art director, just be honest about the scale of your work and the nature of your magazine when asked, i.e. let them know that you were supervising other students, not paid professionals. I’m not saying you shouldn’t aim high here, and if you’re going to be in charge of the art department then your title should reflect that, but if you’re going to be supervising the art team and another professor or professional editor is going to be supervising you as art director, call yourself the associate art director.
small
It’s just a quarterly 32 page magazine. And it’s mostly students under me. The main purpose is to give PR to their investors.
I think that last part nailed it. The artistic “freedom” is ultimately decided by the professor because it has to fit HP’s style so Associate Art Director might be most accurate.
Oh Matthew
I am actually totally in love with the problems you present to this board. Rock on, child.
Anyway, a publisher heads up the business side of the magazine, is responsible for ad sales, marketing, etc., which from what we’ve seen is not what you want to do. Editor-at-large is generally reserved for someone who contributes to the magazine, but is generally a big name in and of themselves and does not actually come into work today—they’re often a public face of the magazine, so that the people who actually make the magazine can concentrate on doing that. I know you want to go for the gusto here, but if you give yourself one of those titles when all you’re getting is internship credit, you’ll be laughed out of the room in an interview.
Art Director, if you decide you want to be on the art side, puts you at the top of the art department masthead. However, a title like Art Director will basically eliminate you from the running for editorial positions and place you squarely in the art department. I don’t think that’s a bad thing—as was brought up in your previous post, you’re going to need to decide what you want and specialize sometime. However, if you would like a more believable title that is commensurate with your age (college student) your compensation (school credit) and that is more likely to reasonably allow you to work on projects in both departments if you so choose, call yourself an editorial assistant and let this opportunity build your case for the entry level job you’re actually going to need to get after you’re out of school, instead of going for the ego-stroke of a huge title for which you’re not qualified in the professional world.
Very "right"
Ok ya, fuck the publisher thing. lol
I said I wasn’t going to choose but I think I have. I’ve been so preoccupied with the art side of magazines that I haven’t worked on my writing at all. Even if I could be a good writer, it’s obviously not something that takes priority in my interest. I’ve half assed all my writing classes and gotten away with it because I’ve been making magazines at the same time.
Art Director sounds like the best thing, but you’re also right about it sounding too high. It’s mostly students on staff so in that sense I will have a high position, but it will probably look like a bigger magazine if I have a smaller position.
Another thread with a counter-intuitive lesson! lol!
So, if I’m going with Art but Art Director sounds too high maybe go with something like… Deputy Art Director? Associate Art Director? Art Production Director? Any clue on what those are? I’m looking at the Vanity Fair masthead and those are below the line.
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why does art director sound too high? you’re getting a great opportunity here. go with art director. if they end up hiring someone more senior than you, they can be the senior art director, or the creative director or the design director. you cant really be an associate art director if you’re the only one.
i also think your title depends on what your responsibilites will be.
.,.
Well all of my titles have been EIC (student pubs) and I obviously don’t expect to walk into the industry with that position so I think my titles should increasingly get smaller as the publications get bigger. At least until the direction reverses.
There’s a SUPER pro guy who is doing the preliminary art direction for the mock ups but won’t be apart of the actual production so if he gets a position it could be Senior like you’re suggesting. He has big contacts in NY so it would look good to have his name right above mine.
-matt