Magazine designer Michael McCormick inspires students

“When we start to put an issue together for the magazine, we come up with a color palette for how the issue is going to shape up,” McCormick said.

The universe answered Michael McCormick’s wish to work at Martha Stewart Weddings magazine.

McCormick, the Design Director for Martha Stewart Weddings, came to Drake last Tuesday evening to talk to students about the steps that go into magazine design. He recalled saying how the only way he would move to New York City was if he worked for a Martha Stewart magazine. He got his wish in 2011.

McCormick first worked at a couple of small magazines, such as Cincinnati Magazine and Indianapolis Monthly, where resources were hard to come by, thanks to small budgets.

“It’s up to you to make it good. It’s up to you to be scrappy enough and to be able to be creative enough to pull something together to put on the page of a magazine,” McCormick said.

McCormick’s presentation included pictures of his design, including magazine covers and spreads of various color palettes, wedding cakes and table settings.

The color palette creates the foundation for the magazine. Content is created through the Art Director and a stylist on a photo shoot. Generally, the writer comes last.

“We start with the concept of the story and then produce the story, shoot the story, lay out the story, show it to the editor and the editor gives it her blessing and then it goes to the writer,” McCormick said.

Melissa Studach who is a Student Assistant for E.T. Meredith Magazine Online, asked McCormick to share his experience. Studach has been working on this project since last October.

“And he was so down to come out and do it, and I was shocked because he’s like a big league to me,” Studach said.

Studach saw McCormick discuss his work on the trip that junior magazine majors take to New York City every year.

“He was at the top of my mind when looking for someone to bring in,” Studach said.

“He spoke a bit about previous experience and jobs and whatnot and so then after his presentation within the glass I thought I would come and watch delve more into his work and examples and such,” said sophomore Anna Gleason. McCormick’s stop at Drake proved valuable to students.

Gleason felt that she benefited from seeing McCormick speak.

“I haven’t really delved into exploring magazine design, which is an entirely different realm of work and so it was really interesting to see someone speak extensively about that,” Gleason said.