Art Director
CREDIT: Callie Alexander
As a teenager, I lived for cheesy rom-coms, you know the ones where the female protagonist has a glamorous job at a magazine but just wants to be a “serious journalist.” Though I have the utmost respect for all types of journalism, this is a trope I have never understood. Why can’t women be happy working in a position where they just get to have fun?! Films and television like 13 Going On 30, The Carrie Diaries, and The Devil Wears Prada sparked inspiration within me. At age 16, I was addicted to collecting old magazines and creating collages. On trips to the bookstore, I was drawn to the magazine section where I would peruse the magazines for pages with bright colors and cool designs.
After following @rowdymagazine for two years, I finally applied to be a layout designer in Fall of 2021. Being a layout designer and experiencing all things Rowdy for the first time was one of the greatest experiences of my college career. Though I’m still working on figuring my life out, I will never be able to thank Rowdy enough for giving me a sense of purpose and reminding me why I love graphic design. To Valerie and Sophia, you guys were the best predecessors and I am so grateful to you for teaching me all about what it’s like to create artwork for a publication.
To Volumes 7.5, 8, and 9, you are my children. Made with love, sweat, and lots of tears, these Volumes are the physical manifestations of the jumbled fonts, colors, and illustrations that are floating around my brain. My goal as a designer is to create work that sparks joy. When people look at each volume of Rowdy Magazine, I want them to feel the excitement jump off each page and feel inspired - even before they’ve read any of the content. However, one of my favorite parts of being Art Director is being able to make the incredible work of our writers come to life. Giving the amazing articles with powerful topics a space to live upon the page makes designing so much more meaningful.
Before I Go:
Thank you to the layout team for putting up with my back and forth changes and helping me create the best magazine on campus <3
Thank you to social design for dealing with my inconsistency and last minute requests - you make our Instagram look killer
Thank you to Juliette and Gabi for guiding me through my first 2 Rowdy volumes and making me fall in love with Rowdy
Thank you to Aurora and Lola for sticking with me through Volume 9 and giving me a reason to go to the Reitz more in my senior year than all my years in college combined
Ava, Tiffany, Aurora, and the rest of exec - I am so excited to see what you guys do with the next Volume (THE BIG 10) and you can be sure I will be watching and stalking all of Rowdy’s future posts
Unfortunately, I have to go join the real world now, but there will always be such a special place in my heart for the Rowdy fam. Thank you for letting me work in a position where I simply get to have fun! <3
XOXO,
Callie (You hate to see me go, but you love to watch me leave ;)