6A2, 6B2 - PPP - Creative Convos - Day 1 - Valentina Egoavil Medina - SUSPIRA Magazine

Valentina Egoavil Medina - SUSPIRA Magazine 

- Originally did Fashion Design at university then did a Masters in Journalism and then had a job in Fashion Journalism 
- Worked on the W Project as a social media editor which came about after hearing about it from a guest lecturer. She asked if they needed help, it wasn't well paid and she had to do other jobs alongside this however led to some interesting projects e.g. Tate Exchange
- It is important to get paid but sometimes other jobs are needed to tide you over and enable you to get the job you want. For example she worked 3 days unpaid initially and remotely worked at W project 
- What can I do that no one else can do? She decided to create a publication about horror
- Did you always want to be a Creative Director? Not initially, she was more into written content. A Creative Director is not tied to any discipline which she realised during her MA . She didn't know she was a Creative Director until she became a Creative Director 
- Her biggest professional challenge was how to pay the bills without selling her soul. Being valued and being paid is a challenge.
- Inspirations for SUSPIRA - took 6 months to flesh out the idea initially. She decided on themed issues because horror was so broad and crossed over Film , Illustration , Literature etc.
- Giving female and minority voices a platform is important 
- She doesn't like showing work to other people only to those who she trusts 
- Considers horror to be underappreciated because people don't understand it. It doesn't just mean blood and death, there are other nuances. 
- The design of the magazine aims to have classic elements but in a more sophisticated way 
- The first issue took 7 months and 5 months for the second issue 
- She worked with Graphic Designers to create the publication 
- The process of creating the visual was initially intuitive then also researched
- Horror covers lots of different things e.g. mental health, phobias, monsters and women / romance
- Monsters are mainly masculine which talks about the time that the work was created 
- Will the magazine always be in print or could this become digital over time? The papers, stock and texture influenced by pulp aesthetic which is difficult to imagine as digital. Cover made tactile and debossed, it has to be touched and looked at to get all of the elements. 
- Black and white with changing accent colour across issues creates consistency but flexibility within the design.
- Doesn't use paid promotion instead promoted by platform her partner works with. Returns the favor by promoting their things. When the publication is stocked by shops they have their own following which creates publicity. Winning an award created more interest, sales and stockists which was food promotion 
- The project was initially funded by an Angel investor. She wanted to get a job to pay for the first issue but that wasn't possible. Partner in her team knew the graphic designers that would then work with her on SUSPIRA
- Contacts and friends are needed
- She didn't really have many setbacks during the project apart from printing 
- She is also starting to put on events based around the magazine which could potentially become another revenue stream, however they are a lot of work
- There isn't just a focus on old also looks at modern horror
- She got contributors through reaching out to people she admired, whilst others contacted her looking to get involved especially for the second issue 
- Had to compromise in some ways with the printing
- It is important to choose battles and compromise when needed 
- She tries to get the Graphic Designers to think outside of their comfort zone and vice versa. They make each other think in different ways 
- She trusts the people she works with and doesn't like working with people that she doesn't trust.
- Horror is a huge industry but a niche subject. Very much about psychology which people resonate with 
- Letting ideas sit is important, like an incubation stage 
- She initially wanted to make the magazine look like a punk rock zine. The sophistication and glamour created within the design is more timeless which would be better in the long run. The layout is simple and open, with saturated imagery which creates a visual juxtaposition, fused with more femininity as horror is mainly a male genre

Things learnt:

- Promotion does not necessarily have to be paid, this can be quite organic through promoting other peoples work in return for them doing the same, also getting work seen / stocked creates another channel for promotion
- Using contacts from people you know is a good way of getting more contacts.  
- Working with people you trust is important
- Compromise is sometimes needed and it's important to know when this is appropriate
- Letting ideas sit can help projects develop over time
- Other revenue avenues can be created around a project