The 4U Paper

Role
Lead designer,
writer and editor

Timeline
2015-2019

Skills
Print design
Editing
Photography

Tools
InDesign
Photoshop

The 4U Paper is the monthly student-run magazine at NSBHS, featuring student-written articles and interviews with students, staff and local community members. I was part of The 4U Paper team from 2015 to 2019 and was the lead designer in 2016, 2018 and early 2019. My role involved the editing and formatting of articles, managing social media as well as conducting interviews. The 4U Paper is created using Photoshop and InDesign, and a large part of my role also involved training younger students to use these programs.

Over the 4 years that I was involved with The 4U Paper, I helped the team work tirelessly to grow the magazine from a small publication to one that is now read by thousands of students and community members. At our peak, the July 2018 edition reached over 10,000 views and we were featured in the Sydney Morning Herald. In November 2019, a special edition of The 4U Paper won the Upper Secondary category of the Front Page competition run by ATOM and Nine.

The 4U Paper began in 2014 with a focus on student written articles that were entertaining and light hearted. The old cover and layout (shown below) mimicked the style of an exam paper, with the cover text replaced by something satirical. The paper was published sporadically and readership was below 100. We needed a way to rejuvenate the magazine, attract new readers and expand into new areas.

The team agreed that the previous style had run its course and it was time to transform the magazine into a modern publication with a more global focus. We decided to consistently publish a new edition every month, and recruit a team of writers so that we no longer had to rely on student submissions. Full colour covers were introduced and I designed a consistent layout and chose a primary typeface that would ensure each edition had a sense of familiarity.

The new design was more professional and engaging. This was reflected in our increased readership, consistently reaching around 300-400 online and 100 in print.

Our new direction also introduced a focus on interviewing public figures in areas that were of interest to students. In July 2018, we interviewed three leading voices on the NSW selective school system. This edition was the post popular edition of The 4U Paper and was read by over 10,000 people online.

As part of The 4U Paper, I was also able to meet and interview former North Sydney Boys students, including journalist Peter Overton. We were also featured in the Sydney Morning Herald regarding our investigation into the selective school system. These were amazing opportunities that would not have been possible without the collaboration and commitment of our team, and allowed my designs to have a real world impact.

View past editions of The 4U Paper here. My designs can be seen in the October 2015 to May 2019 editions.

Overall, the five years that I spent working on The 4U Paper allowed me to experiment with different design styles and significantly improve my skills. Most importantly, I'm extremely proud that I was able to teach students how to use Photoshop and InDesign so that The 4U Paper could continue to be published after I had graduated.

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