Client / Venture

Artis Magazine (formerly ArtisticFX) — a Connecticut-based, high-end arts and culture publication showcasing regional artists, poetry, music, theatre, film, museums, and galleries.

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Role

Co-Owner, Publisher & Art Director — responsible for creative direction, brand development, and day-to-day business operations.

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Challenge

The former owner sold a struggling arts magazine to his editor, who believed in its potential but needed a creative and operational partner to stabilize and grow it. With confidence in my publishing and design experience, he offered me partial ownership. Together, our challenge was to:

• Rebrand and reposition the magazine as a respected cultural authority.
• Modernize design and layout while balancing advertising with art-driven content.
• Expand readership and build a sustainable advertising and distribution model.

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Approach

Brand Reinvention
Led the renaming process, researching historical and linguistic roots of art-related terms before rebranding the publication as Artis Magazine — a name that signals sophistication, craft, and cultural depth.

Design Leadership
Elevated the magazine’s visual identity with refined layouts, updated typography, and more intentional pacing of content. Reduced ad clutter and structured pages so artwork, photography, and literary features remained the focal point.

Hands-On Operations
Wore multiple hats as art director, ad designer, publisher, brand ambassador, delivery driver, and sales representative. This lean, entrepreneurial approach kept production viable while we worked to grow the audience.

Team Development
Managed and mentored a small design team, assigning projects that built their conceptual and technical skills while supporting the magazine’s evolving visual direction.

Grassroots Distribution & Partnerships
Personally delivered issues across southern Connecticut and forged relationships with galleries, museums, cafes, and retail locations — turning distribution into a face-to-face brand-building opportunity.

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Outcome

Built a collaborative, skills-focused design environment that helped emerging creatives grow while contributing to a more polished, impactful publication.

Established new distribution networks that significantly broadened community reach.

Successfully transformed ArtisticFX into Artis Magazine, a respected bi-monthly arts and culture publication for Connecticut.

Enhanced the magazine’s reputation through high-quality design, thoughtful curation, and stronger editorial cohesion, attracting new readers and advertisers.

Logo and Icon Design

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Covers

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Culinary Spreads

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Brand Advertisements