The Cover Story
a very narcissistic newspaper
to reinvent the cover letter by transforming it into a newspaper, only the story it's covering is....ME.
The challenge
Prof. Holly Quarzo
SCAD Atlanta
Mentor
Spring 2024
Completed
typography / copywriting / layout design / UI design
Skills Used
When you're applying for jobs, everyone asks for a
Cover letter,
but they're SO boring.
My problem with cover letters
In the midst of my job hunt, I’ve found myself writing and editing dozens and dozens of cover letters and despairing over each one.
It just killed me that here I was, writing the same ol’ things to all these companies who wouldn’t even give me a second thought, or who probably weren’t even reading my cover letter at all. And it made me MAD that my cover letters BARELY managed to scratch the surface of who I am. There’s so much more to me than the drivel I’ve spouted in my cover letter.
Cover letters are SO BORING. I wanted to design something else to replace it, something else that would tell my story.
when it's really supposed to tell my story.
Cover letters feel like a lot of the same ol' stuff repeated again and again,
A lil' BS
Tone of voice:
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casual (I really can’t be any other way)
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funny (I’d like to think I am, yes)
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alliterative (I adore alliterations, can’t you tell)
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full of puns (I take my puns personally)
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I decided to reconstruct the cover letter in the form of a newspaper, only the story being covered is...
well, ME.
Structuring out my paper
I wanted to show the essentials of what you’d be getting in this issue (i.e that it was the culmination of my time at SCAD). I wanted it to reflect my personal Identity, with a whimsical/ironic tone of voice.
Grab a copy of The Daily BS: the SCAD issue!
(This issue covers the life & times of me at SCAD, and has turned into a culmination of everything I learned here.)
Storytelling! Ideation! Imagination! Creation! Exploring! Strategy! And probably more that I'm forgetting!
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I wanted to make my cover almost magazine-esque, using type as an image. I wanted this (the front and back covers) to seamlessly form a continuous spread.
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However, still in accordance with a regular newspaper, the front page would also reflect the issue number, date, and title in the (vague) form of a newspaper masthead.
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I experimented with a number of sketches before finalizing my pick.
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Breaking News: I need a break. Can someone get me one?
(Or: a brief introduction to me & a lil' bit about my time at SCAD).
BREAKING NEWS!
My second spread follows more closely the typical front page of a newspaper.
I mimicked popular newspaper formats and used catchy headlines to draw the eye.
I used Etna Condensed for my headline, which is a condensed serif that I felt captured the solemn, yet blaring messages that the news usually brings.
On the left, I wanted to capture a lil’ bit of my hope for the future, a contrast to the bleak headlines.
"Job hunting is like dating. All you need to do is find the perfect match for you!"
- says every professor at SCAD, like it's SOOOOO easy.
Swipe to hire!
This page was inspired quote from my professors Holly and Sam, who often told me that “job hunting is like dating! All you have to do is find your perfect match!”
Well, I figured that I could do a play on bumble by creating a dating profile just for ME. Hence, bhamble!
This is a dating profile that mimics a dating apps, only it shows off my work and what I’m like as a designer. It also includes quotes from my professors and peers.
This is CLASSIFIEDS information.
(Or: I'm selling my sanity for a thousand bucks. Want a piece?)
(Psst. Yeah, you. Need an extra kidney?)
My classifieds section uses two new fonts: Arial black and Rockwell, which I added to capture the true chaos of a classifieds page.
I studied tons of classifieds pages in actual newspapers. It took me a while to understand that everything on this page is fighting for attention, but that’s why it works!
This page is just me selling my services, my belongings, my sanity, and (maybe) a kidney. If it’s legal.
Taking a good, hard look at myself. Literally.
(Talking to yourself offers a whole new perspective. Try it.)
Some very BS games
(Or: test yourself with these fun facts about me that I made up on the spot)
Do it yourself (No, really. Do it.)
What gripped me about zines was how versatile they were. They came in all kinds of different sizes and shapes and folds. Every page turned brought on a whole new surprise and a whole new wave of delight, and that's something I wanted my catalog to reflect as well.
I made a folder of mini-zines that folded out into punk band posters. I printed out stickers and used little accordions that popped out from the pages. deZINE is truly the DIY project that all zines are.
Zines are typewritten. They're scrawled hastily onto scrap paper. They're black and white and blue and pink and green and every color ever. They're stapled together, and bound with glue and string. They're illustrated and doodled with crayon and marker and ballpoint pen. They're as big as a magazine, as thick as a novel, so tiny they could fit into your palm.
They're DIY. They're crafty. They're expressive. But most of all, they're FUN. I wanted to make sure my catalog reflected that.
Putting the engineer in me to rest (RIP, but not really)
(Or: I'm selling my sanity for a thousand bucks. Want a piece?)
Here lies...
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I used to be an engineer, but it’s a part of me I’ve long discarded.
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I thought it’d be funny to pay tribute to my short-lived endeavour as an engineer in the form of an obituary, with an accompanying ouija board to signal my ‘rebirth’ as a designer.
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I used rather gothic fonts for this spread (notably Melon Honey) as I was inspired by similar fonts I saw on gravestones at Oakland Cemetery.
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My first round of this spread, I created a cemetery in which I’d buried past versions of myself.
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Every element of this page has throwbacks to me. For instance, the sun and moon symbols are made of my face, and the floral borders hide the ‘BS’ initials.
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Bad reviews
(Or: I'm selling my sanity for a thousand bucks. Want a piece?)
Now featuring: all the projects that give me PTSD!
(I can barely look at them.)
Do it yourself (No, really. Do it.)
What gripped me about zines was how versatile they were. They came in all kinds of different sizes and shapes and folds. Every page turned brought on a whole new surprise and a whole new wave of delight, and that's something I wanted my catalog to reflect as well.
I made a folder of mini-zines that folded out into punk band posters. I printed out stickers and used little accordions that popped out from the pages. deZINE is truly the DIY project that all zines are.
Zines are typewritten. They're scrawled hastily onto scrap paper. They're black and white and blue and pink and green and every color ever. They're stapled together, and bound with glue and string. They're illustrated and doodled with crayon and marker and ballpoint pen. They're as big as a magazine, as thick as a novel, so tiny they could fit into your palm.
They're DIY. They're crafty. They're expressive. But most of all, they're FUN. I wanted to make sure my catalog reflected that.
The Daily BS is a source of constant a-news-ment.
(And they're available to buy at a store near you!)
