What Didn't Work This Month

by Patsy Carvalho

Finished creative work eludes to the process looking cleaner than it really is. This second issue has involved a number of decisions, revisions, and changes in direction. Any piece of work follows the same direction with finding a starting point, revising the path, and completely changing the direction it was heading. In all honesty, everything doesn’t always work. This article will look at what hasn’t worked as well this second time around.

First, I thought this issue would be easier than July’s. I was wrong to assume that. I know more which means this process has become more complicated because the number of decisions are known.

It was easier because I knew what was needed to complete this issue. I already had templates and branding completed, so my energy was able to be spent in other areas. Completing the research for the articles was also easier because I knew what I was looking for and where to go.

The hard part was that new tasks seemed to find their way onto my to do list and deadlines became harder to hit. Creative energy was evasive this time around. Also, focus was elusive, like neither the designer nor the author was able to hold onto it.

Overall, I underestimated creating issue two. Time had become the enemy and it took a lot to regain or hold onto any energy or focus. And while establishing a visual language was helpful, the roadblocks we faced were constant and frustrating.

Second, planning helped, but it was not something that made this issue easier to create. Planning was great for the big picture and the articles themselves, but planning does not account for the times when I felt overwhelmed or consumed by this project.

Third, making things fit just to put them in takes away from the overall premise of Marginalia. The magazine is supposed to incite observation and make people want to go out and find their creative niche or develop skills they already have. I think the prompt posts on Instagram started acting as fillers, which took their meaning away.

Lastly, I had a hard time knowing when to stop. During the research phase, I got sucked in and found what I was reading so fascinating that I lost myself. It became difficult to understand what was enough and what was too much.

In all actuality, these problems will probably rear their heads again in the next issue, but one thing that I want to keep hold of is that I learn from each situation and become better for it. The point of laying out the issues here is to document and ensure that they are noticed soon; by us at Marginalia and by those who pick this magazine up for their own entertainment.