Kinesis Magazine: Creative Director

Hey folks! I'm Sam, and I'm running for Creative Director again this term! 

Over the last year in Kinesis I've learned a lot about collaboration, responsibility and organisation, and I would love to keep being a part of this team. As creative director I have worked on Issues 13 and 14, typesetting over 20 articles in the process, worked on standardising our design formatting for a more cohesive final product, helped design the Kinesis media kit, and hosted fun events like the art workshop collaboration with Free Hype.

I elected again, I would love to

• Encourage more communication amongst different parts of the magazine team, and have smaller meeting within the creative team to consolidate and share ideas - something that worked well for Issue 14.
• Diversify the creative content in the magazine, incorporating shorter pieces, art pages or even fun games, to increase the readability of the magazine.
• Within the creative team, increase the range of our designs by smoothly transitioning to the new Adobe design toolkit.
• Continue to solidify Kinesis's identity in our design style across all our media output. 

Overall, I am proactive, organised, and I love being creative. If you like the magazine work we've done this year, vote for me and we can keep it going! 

As the current Creative Director for Kinesis Magazine this year, I have thoroughly enjoyed my role and the contributions I have been able to make to the society. Being part of Kinesis has given me the opportunity to bridge the gap between science and creativity, using art as a medium to make scientific concepts more engaging and accessible to students. I have loved working alongside a passionate team to bring each issue to life, combining design, illustration, and visual storytelling to enhance the magazine’s impact.

I would like to nominate myself once again to be part of this incredible magazine society next year, as I am eager to continue contributing my skills and creativity to future editions. I am passionate about maintaining and expanding Kinesis Magazine’s vision, refining our artistic direction, and exploring new ways to make science more visually compelling. I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with fellow members and create even more inspiring and thought-provoking issues in the future.

I have a good deal of experience with specifically science based art - my high school project was creating a short book about biology directed towards younger high school students. In that process, I developed the skills to draw scientifically accurate artworks and got a better understanding of formatting pages. I’ve already written an article and drawn 4 artworks for published Kinesis Magazine articles, so I’m comfortable with the deadlines and drawing for different branches of science. I am also using design apps such as Procreate, Sketchbook and Canva for over 3 years now, so I feel comfortable with typesetting and formatting articles. Additionally, I am willing to learn formatting for other apps such as Adobe. Aside from digital drawing, I'm able to use acrylics, sketch and create collages so I have a fairly diverse skill set. I’ve been wanting to combine my biological sciences degree and my art hobby for a while now, so I believe I’m a great fit for this position! Please consider me:)

As Creative Director, I will build on our magazine’s strong visual identity, creating a cohesive and visually striking publication that enhances the reading experience. With hands-on experience as a Kinesis graphic designer, writer, and editor, I have contributed to various aspects of the magazine’s development—most notably in producing artwork and typesetting articles—giving me a a strong familiarity with the role. Furthermore, I am able to work well with others to develop and refine creative concepts. If elected, my goal is to expand the variety of artwork featured, ensuring a thoughtful balance between traditional and digital media to enrich the magazine’s aesthetic and storytelling.

Kinesis was one of the few societies I decided to join in first year because I wanted to make some art on the side of my STEM degree. Ever since then I have been illustrating for Kinesis issues and I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of creating art that are specific to the topics and narratives of articles. From participating in Kinesis Magazine, I have refined my digital art and graphic designing skills through applications like Adobe Fresco and Canva. My artworks with Kinesis has even got me a position as an illustrator for the ELEP project at UCL. This year I have also stepped up my commitment to the society by writing articles and signing up to be part of the graphic designer team to help with typesetting and putting Issue 15 together. Although I have switched disciplines to an Art History degree now, I found that Kinesis’ work remain ever so relevant because of its diverse and interdisciplinary publications. I have been a part of Kinesis for two years now and I want to take on more responsibilities in not just creating art, but also in helping the team manage the recruitment of artists, creative workshops, managing publishing and more. I also believe that my unique background cross humanities and sciences can bring new ideas to the society to increase engagement with the wider UCL society.