NHEG Guide Magazine
Project Year
From 2017 to today
Client
Pamela S. Clark, Executive Director
Industry
Education Organization
Project Year
Since 2017 until today
Client
Pamela S. Clark, Executive Director
Industry
Education Organization
Design With Empathy, Built on TrustA Partnership With Pamela
Design With Empathy, Built on TrustA Partnership With Pamela
What began as a volunteer project for NHEG became one of the most meaningful and long‑term collaborations of my career. In 2017, I met Pamela Clark while volunteering with the New Heights Educational Group, and from that first conversation, we built a strong bond rooted in shared values around education, community, and thoughtful design.
Over eight years, this relationship has grown into multiple design projects, with the NHEG Guide Magazine as the flagship publication. I serve as the main graphic designer and editor, responsible for visual direction, layout, typography, color, and print production management.
This is fundamentally a graphic design project—showcasing my expertise in editorial design, print layout, brand identity development, and the ability to create a cohesive visual language across dozens of issues over nearly a decade.
My Role
My Responsibilities
For each issue, I am responsible for the complete visual execution—from first layout grid to final print‑ready files.
Magazine Layout & Design
Complete layout and design of 32-64+ page biannual magazines using Adobe InDesign, creating visual structure and hierarchy for editorial content provided by Pamela.
Typography Direction
Selection and application of typefaces, development of typographic hierarchy, and establishment of a consistent typography system across all issues.
Color Palette Development
Development and refinement of the magazine's color palette, understanding color psychology and application in service of the editorial mission and brand identity.
Visual Brand Identity
Development and maintenance of cohesive visual language across dozens of issues—ensuring each publication feels unified while allowing for seasonal and thematic variation.
Graphic Elements Design
Design of custom section headers, decorative elements, borders, dividers, and visual treatments that enhance editorial content without overwhelming it.
Photography & Image Direction
For seven years, I curated diverse volunteer photography—educational moments alongside generic lifestyle and seasonal imagery that supported the magazine's various themes. Recently, I transitioned to using Leonardo AI exclusively, which allows me to generate cohesive, thematic imagery that maintains visual consistency across every issue while perfectly aligning with NHEG's brand aesthetic and editorial direction.
My Challenge
Designing issues each year required me to develop systems that prioritized consistency. Early on, I worked with volunteer photography covering diverse themes, but maintaining visual coherence proved challenging—different photographers, varying quality, and content gaps. I solved this by developing strict curation workflows and post-processing systems.
As the magazine matured and needed tighter visual alignment with Pamela’s mission, I made a strategic shift to Leonardo AI, which gave me complete creative control over imagery.
Understanding the target audience—students, parents, and educators navigating homeschooling—also shaped my design decisions. I collaborated with Pamela to align visual structure with her editorial vision and NHEG’s mission, defining the magazine’s theme, direction, and tone together.
Each challenge taught me that sustainable design requires systems thinking and the discipline to execute consistently.
Awards & Recognition
GLOBEE AWARDS
MEDIA HERO OF THE YEAR
As part of the NHEG team, I was honored when the NHEG Guide Magazine received the Globee Awards – Media Hero of the Year. This recognition celebrates the publication’s impact and validates the role that thoughtful, consistent graphic design plays in an educational publication. A beautifully designed magazine enhances credibility and strengthens readers’ connection to the mission.
The award reinforced an important lesson: great design is about serving a mission and maintaining quality and consistency over time, not personal creativity alone.
Awards & Recognition
GLOBEE AWARDS – MEDIA HERO OF THE YEAR
GLOBEE AWARDS
MEDIA HERO OF THE YEAR
As part of the NHEG team, I was honored when the NHEG Guide Magazine received the Globee Awards – Media Hero of the Year. This recognition celebrates the publication’s impact and validates the role that thoughtful, consistent graphic design plays in an educational publication. A beautifully designed magazine enhances credibility and strengthens readers’ connection to the mission.
The award reinforced an important lesson: great design is about serving a mission and maintaining quality and consistency over time, not personal creativity alone.
What Meaningful Design Really Means
This eight-year collaboration with Pamela and NHEG taught me what value really means in design. For NHEG, I provided consistent, high-quality graphic design that elevated the organization’s credibility and strengthened its connection with the homeschooling community. Every bimonthly issue was professional, accessible, and mission-aligned—communicating that the organization’s message was worth beautiful presentation.
For me, this project was invaluable. Working within the constraints of consistent deadlines, nonprofit budgets, and evolving audience needs taught me that the best design isn’t about novelty—it’s about serving people authentically. Eight years of bimonthly publications proved that great design work is measured not by awards or trends, but by whether it strengthens communication and deepens trust between an organization and its community.
The Globee Award reflected this collaborative success. But the real impact is visible in how NHEG has grown, how the magazine is read and shared, and how consistently we maintained quality across publications. That’s the value we created together—design in service of mission.