Pathfinder Magazine is a student-run publication that showcases visual and literary works created by students at Western Colorado University.

As Creative Director of Pathfinder Magazine, I worked alongside a fellow Creative Director under the guidance of a faculty advisor to lead the magazine's conceptualization, design, and production. I guided our team through the editorial design process, providing creative direction and maintaining visual consistency across the publication while also designing a significant portion of its layouts and spreads. My responsibilities included leading collaborative discussions to jury and select student work for publication and scholarships, organizing project files, events, and production assets, and coordinating with printers to ensure the magazine was successfully produced and delivered.

Each yearly edition of this publication has a new theme. For the 2026 edition, our design team selected a theme of refinement and minimalism in order to truly highlight student work.

The overall design emphasizes generous white space, refined typography, and a restrained color palette to keep the focus on the featured artwork and writing. Unlike previous years’ editions, we chose to feature a selected student piece as the cover of the magazine to further enforce the idea of the emphasis being on student work. Throughout the publication, we prioritized legibility, visual hierarchy, and pacing while creating layouts that complimented each piece.