Over the past year, Emily Zhang ‘23 and Cathy Wang ‘23 have led the Hourglass design team, creating media for the paper from behind the scenes. 

As Creative Directors, Zhang says, “our role essentially entails work creating designs for all of the pages, formatting in a way that looks visually appealing to the Baldwin audience…sometimes that involves creating graphics, playing with headlines and space, and other visual elements.” 

While both directors love art, their busy schedules have made it hard for them to take many art classes at Baldwin. Therefore, as Zhang said, “I continued with the Hourglass because it was a really nice way to express myself … and the schedule is a little bit more flexible.”

As the only two juniors on the graphics team last year, both Zhang and Wang became the paper’s Creative Directors with the goal of expanding their team and its output. This was met with some challenges. 

Zhang said, “With limited space, there is less room for not only articles, but  accompanying graphics.” Despite this obstacle, however, it was their goal to produce five creatively designed issues this school year. 

While the Hourglass’ primary focus is its articles, visuals are essential to communicating these ideas in an eye-catching manner. Wang said that “visual aspects…give a general idea of what to expect [in an article]. They also include some symbolism…which is something that I don’t think writing [conveys as effectively] at times… Hourglass, contrary to a traditional newspaper, is more like a magazine because we have a lot of designs.”

These designs have aided Baldwin’s recognition outside of school as well. The Hourglass’ print issues, which are also given to visiting students, represent Baldwin in an appealing light to prospective families. Similarly, Zhang and Wang have continually honored the Hourglass’ history of recognition, specifically for its creative achievements, through the Columbia Scholastic Press Association awards. 

Looking into the future, Zhang, while unsure of how she will continue her involvement with arts during her college career at the University of Pennsylvania, looks forward to finding ways to apply these skills in her daily life. She said, “art is a skill that is very transient and can be used in a lot of different avenues.” Wang, who will be attending Smith College, responded, “I am definitely thinking about joining the yearbook club,” as its focus on visuals will be similar to the Hourglass’ attention to graphics.

Wishing the best of luck to our Creative Directors, we cannot wait to see what artistic endeavors they embark on in the future.