Annual Local Magazine, 2025
Case Study
Editorial Design Copywriting Creative Direction
What is Lufkin Living the Life Magazine?
Lufkin Living the Life magazine is an annual publication dedicated to promoting the city of Lufkin and the greater Angelina County area. Produced by Kevin Smithhart and widely circulated throughout the community, the magazine serves both residents and visitors as a guide to local culture, events, points of interest, and the distinctive character of East Texas.
The magazine is developed in close collaboration with Visit Lufkin, whose team provides a significant portion of the written content and photography each year. Together, the publication balances civic promotion with editorial storytelling, highlighting the people, places, and experiences that define the region while supporting tourism, economic development, and community pride.
The Challenges
For the 2025 edition, Christina was asked to lead the graphic design for the entire magazine while working within an existing visual reference and a wide range of editorial content. Key challenges included:
Designing a cohesive magazine layout using a preexisting table of contents spread as a stylistic reference
Creating layouts that emphasized large, immersive photography, including as many images bleeding across full spreads as possible
Incorporating a high volume of varied content while maintaining visual clarity and flow
Integrating advertisements with distinct, independent design styles while maintaining visual balance across editorial spreads
Working with flexible article lengths provided by multiple contributors
This project also marked Christina’s first experience serving as lead designer for an entire magazine, requiring adaptability, thoughtful problem-solving, and close collaboration throughout the production process.
The Solution
Christina developed a flexible editorial layout system that prioritized strong imagery, clear hierarchy, and intuitive navigation. Building from the provided design reference, she made independent stylistic decisions that unified the magazine while allowing each section to feel distinct.
A color-coding system was reestablished for the 2025 edition, assigning each section a unique color pulled directly from its highlight photography. These colors were applied consistently across section divider spreads and select layouts, helping readers visually orient themselves as they moved through the magazine.
To support the publication’s emphasis on photography, layouts were designed to accommodate full-bleed images spanning across spreads whenever possible. Typography, spacing, and grid structures were carefully balanced to ensure text complemented imagery without competing for attention.
Services Provided
For the 2025 edition of Lufkin Living the Life, Christina contributed in the following roles:
Editorial design and layout for all magazine spreads
Creative direction within an established visual reference
Graphic design for section dividers and supporting visual elements
Design and layout of in-magazine advertisements, as needed
Copywriting for two original articles, along with copy editing and proofreading support
Together, these services resulted in a cohesive, visually engaging publication that balanced editorial storytelling, advertising needs, and print production constraints.
The Execution
As lead designer, Christina oversaw the magazine from concept through final design and pre-press delivery. Spreads were developed within a cohesive typographic system based on the established design reference, with imagery selected to support each article’s content and layouts adapted to accommodate varying article lengths.
Full-spread section dividers were created to clearly introduce each section of the magazine. These openers featured dominant photography covering most of the spread, large section titles, and brief introductory text to set the tone for the content that followed. While visually impactful, these spreads required careful planning due to their page count and lack of advertising space.
Throughout the process, Christina collaborated closely with Kevin Smithhart and Visit Lufkin to align design decisions with editorial goals. The experience provided valuable insight into large-scale editorial production and informed refinements made in later editions, including adjustments to layout planning, section structure, and coordination of content length.
The Results
The 2025 edition of Lufkin Living the Life delivered a polished, visually engaging publication that effectively showcased Lufkin and the greater Angelina County area. Clear organization, immersive photography, and consistent visual systems made the magazine approachable for a broad audience, from longtime residents to first-time visitors.
Distributed throughout the community, the magazine continues to serve as both a promotional and informational resource, supporting local tourism efforts and reinforcing community pride.
This project demonstrates Christina’s ability to manage large-scale editorial design, adapt to evolving content needs, and balance visual storytelling with real-world constraints such as advertising integration, flexible article lengths, and print production requirements. As her first experience leading the design of an entire magazine, the project also reflects a strong foundation in editorial systems thinking and collaborative creative leadership.