Washington City Paper

I served as Creative Director for D.C.’s alt-weekly newspaper for nearly two years. With a tight budget and a lot of creativity, I designed, illustrated, and art directed 70 newspapers during my tenure. I art directed photo shoots, illustrated digital art, and commissioned illustrations as needed for weekly deadlines. I executed a newspaper redesign and rebrand for City Paper to unite its brand identity across its platforms. I was also responsible for all things marketing, including strategizing and designing materials for the paper’s membership program, community events, and digital marketing campaigns.

Recognition:
Two Awards of Excellence from the Society for News Design (2019, 2020 Best of News Design Competitions)
Fourth place in @CoverJunkie’s “Most Creative Covers of 2020”
2021 AAN Awards Finalist in Innovation/Format Buster category

“If You’re Reading This, Go Home” coronavirus cover

Role: Art Direction, Design, Copywriting

Contributors: City Paper staff

In March 2020, our cover story fell through multiple weeks in a row. I used City Paper’s platform as a free accessible paper to send an important, cautionary message to D.C. residents as we faced lockdown orders from the mayor and canceled events. I also pitched including resources inside the paper for people experiencing unstable housing in the issue as we collectively navigated the new reality of the pandemic. On the cover, the list of resources was mentioned with the copy, “If you are experiencing homelessness or unstable housing, we have resources for you on page 3.” The cover design was published in Axios AM, made @coverjunkie’s top five most creative covers of 2020, and earned an Award of Excellence from the Society for News Design.

All Politics Are Local: Insurrection Coverage

Role: Art Direction, Design, Illustration, Photo Editing and Selection
Contributors: Story by City Paper Contributors, Photographs by J.M. Giordano and Darrow Montgomery, Design by Julia Terbrock; Edited by Caroline Jones and City Paper staff

As the insurrection unfolded on Jan. 6, we, the staff, scrapped our cover story scheduled to run the following week in the January issue. We quickly shifted focus on reaching out to locals to gain much needed perspective of Washingtonians, who experienced this event in their backyards. The ten total pages and cover illustration were designed on a tight production deadline.

The January issue was scheduled to publish a week after the insurrection. By the next week, the insurrection photos had flooded local to national news. For the cover, I thought a conceptual, illustrative visual would leave space in the piece for the viewer’s interpretation and capture this time of collective grief and tragedy. City Paper does not typically focus on federal imagery, but in this case it was absolutely necessary. I landed on a piece with the black watercolor streaks taking hold over the Capitol building, visualizing the feeling of the takeover that occurred on Jan. 6. The watercolor painting is titled, “All Politics Are Local.”

Lives Lost 2019

Role: Art Direction, Cover and Page Design
Contributors: Story by City Paper Staff and Contributors; Photographs by Darrow Montgomery'; Design by Julia Terbrock; Edited by Alexa Mills

For four months, City Paper talked to the loved ones of D.C. homicide victims in 2019 and asked them to tell us about the person they lost. The story focused on more than the numbers of D.C.’s increased homicide rates—it humanized victims and the communities affected by violence. I art directed, designed, and selected photos for the front cover and 16-page feature design. No matter the length, each person’s remembrance was designed with their own column on the page, giving each person’s story equal visual weight. The 16-page feature design earned an Award of Excellence from the Society for News Design.

Little Joys

Role: Art Direction, Design, Illustration
Contributors: Edited by Kayla Randall; Story by City Paper Staff and Contributors; Design by Julia Terbrock; Watercolor paintings by Julia Terbrock

No Place for the Cure

Role: Art Direction, Design, Photo Illustration
Contributors: Story by Candace Y.A. Montague; Photo illustrations by Darrow Montgomery and Julia Terbrock

The Nature of D.C. Coloring Book Issue

Role: Art Direction, Design, Illustration
Contributors: Cover illustration by Ronan Lynam; Inside illustrations by Julia Terbrock (staff), Maddie Goldstein (staff), Carlos Carmonamedina, and Tenbeete Solomon aka Trap Bob; Art Direction by Kayla Randall and Julia Terbrock; Edited by Kayla Randall

Commissioned artists to create spread illustrations and illustrated three pages for D.C.-inspired coloring book issue. 2021 AAN Awards Finalist in the Innovation/Format Buster category.

51 Reasons In Support of D.C. Statehood centerfold poster

Role: Art Direction, Design
Contributors: Story by Amanda Michelle Gomez; Design by Julia Terbrock

The reporter wanted to write a story reflecting on D.C.’s lack of autonomy during the Jan. 6 insurrection by reporting on a list of reasons why D.C. should be a state. I designed all 51 reasons into a vertical poster on the February issue’s centerfold spread so readers could take the spread out of the paper and easily share the fight for statehood. The hope was for readers to share it with friends and family, display it in windows, and give it to lawmakers who stand in the way of statehood. The published poster was made accessible online for readers to print or share it digitally. The poster was well-received and shared by many D.C. statehood advocates and advocacy groups.

Burial Ground

Role: Cover and Page Design, Photo Selection
Contributors: Story by Kristina Gaddy; Edited by Kayla Randall; Photographs by Darrow Montgomery; Design by Julia Terbrock

Life, Camera, Action

Role: Design, Photo Selection
Contributors: Story by Kayla Randall; Photographs courtesy of birth photographers; Design by Julia Terbrock

Commissioned Cover Illustrations

Role: Art Direction
Illustrations and artwork by (respectively): Maia Wyler, Ronan Lynam, Carlos Carmonamedina, Ashley Jaye Williams, Halim Flowers, and Tenbeete Solomon aka Trap Bob

Art directed cover illustrations for cover fronts and collaborated with DMV artists to execute.