Highlights\u00a0<\/em>team working on the 70th anniversary issue). Greenish felt there was a need to contemporize the magazine with white space and color, and to simplify the magazine\u2019s organization and style to appeal to today\u2019s kids.<\/p>\n\u201cIt was daunting. Here you\u2019ve got a 70-year-old brand and it needed some changes and you didn\u2019t want to break something that was beloved by many for many years,\u201d Greenish says. \u201cBut today\u2019s children\u2019s attention spans are getting a little shorter. Unfortunately, we have to design that way. We have to compete and recognize that digital space is not only changing the way adults consume information, it\u2019s changing the way kids do, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
[blockquote source=”” cite=”” color=”” css_class=””]\u201cI feel like I get to channel my inner kid every day at work. I think back to my 8-year-old self and think: \u2018Do I want to read this?\u2019 \u201d[\/blockquote]<\/p>\n
Within that redesign, Greenish discovered a favorite section of the magazine to work on: Brain Play. Before, the feature was a plain list of open-ended questions intended to spark kids\u2019 creativity. Now he rearranges the questions across the spread in fun ways, uses color and adds in silly illustrations, like the time he created an image of doughnuts on trees for a question about what foods grow on trees.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the most challenging spread to work on, but it\u2019s a chance for me to be most creative and to let kids go wild with their imagination,\u201d Greenish says. \u201cI feel like I get to channel my inner kid every day at work. I think back to my 8-year-old self and think: \u2018Do I want to read this?\u2019 or \u2018Would I want to do this puzzle?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
[photo id=”16574″ title=”highlights-brainplays” alt=”” width=”100%”]A June 2013 Brain Play spread (left( features a simpler layout before Greenish began redesigning the magazine in 2014. Greenish’s April 2018 version of Brain Play (right) uses a more dynamic design.[\/photo]<\/p>\n
Greenish\u2019s 8-year-old self actually did read Highlights<\/em>, so to work now for the magazine is a surreal experience for him. But growing up, he said he never had an interest in arts, despite his mother being an artist. It wasn\u2019t until he came to 麻豆原创 that he discovered he had the talent for graphic design. He initially came to the university to study forensics science, but later realized he \u201cwasn\u2019t wired for advanced chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n[blockquote source=”” cite=”” color=”” css_class=””]\u201cI\u2019m exposing a lot of these kids to different art styles that they didn\u2019t even know existed. … It\u2019s a big responsibility \u2014 and I think about it every day.\u201d[\/blockquote]<\/p>\n
\u201cI visited an advisor and he asked me what was my favorite thing I worked on so far,\u201d Greenish says. \u201cIt was a paper on dogs and fire investigations that included a layout. So he suggested graphic arts. I took some drawing classes and got As, so there was a talent there I had ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n
[photo id=”16576″ title=”highlights-covers-2″ alt=”” width=”100%”]Before Greenish became design director,\u00a0Highlights<\/em>‘ covers (left) tried to pack as many images and headlines as it could. The magazine’s newer cover styles (right) offer cleaner illustrations and fewer headlines so readers are not overwhelmed.[\/photo]<\/p>\nAlthough he isn\u2019t working directly with kids, Greenish is aware of the influence he may have in helping \u201cthe world\u2019s most important people\u201d discover their own talents. On his desk sits a reminder of this and a piece of inspiration. A young reader designed and mailed in her own Brain Play spread with her own original questions and illustrations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really flattering to know someone would replicate my work,\u201d Greenish says. \u201cI\u2019m exposing a lot of these kids to different art styles that they didn\u2019t even know existed and they probably don\u2019t realize it but they\u2019re taking it in subconsciously. It\u2019s a big responsibility \u2014 and I think about it every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
To learn more about <\/em>Highlights and watch the <\/em>44 Pages documentary Greenish is featured in, check out streaming services such as Hulu, Netflix and YouTube. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15776,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[285],"class_list":["post-15775","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-school-of-visual-arts-and-design","issues-1348","issues-spring-2019"],"yoast_head":"\n麻豆原创 Grad Contemporizes the Classic \u2018Highlights\u2019 Magazine\u2019<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n