Oliver Morgan, third-year BA Journalism student, discusses recent visit from magazine writer and London Met alum Gennaro Costanzo.
Date: 6 December 2022
London Met graduate Gennaro Costanzo spoke to third-year Journalism students about his award-winning magazine work today, saying his experience at university gave him the confidence to succeed.
Gennaro, who is originally from Caserta in Italy, showcased the magazine he worked on to students who are currently making a publication of their own for their magazine journalism module, Creating Packages. Titled YOUNG, it won best design at the London Met Magazine awards 2021, and was shortlisted for Best Design at the national Student Publication Association awards, which showcases the best of student work throughout the nation.
“If you’re looking into getting a career in writing, journalism, reporting or just working in creative industry, the journalism course is one of the best the university offers,” he told students.
“The course is really helpful in gaining the confidence that is needed in the industry, whether you’re looking at getting into the marketing aspect of journalism or the writing aspect.”
Gennaro, who was creative director for YOUNG – which was inspired by Vogue and Elle - showed students the various different design techniques he employed, which have helped make his work so successful. They included how to wrap text around photos, source and take good images, use columns for text and vary design from page to page to maximise reader interest.
“I got loads of experience and feedback from professional people in class,” he said. “There was incredible feedback, incredible teaching.
“The work assigned helps boost your professional portfolio to show to potential employers,” said Gennaro, who is currently freelancing as a writer and a designer.
Student Tsvetelina Stancheva said she learned a lot from Gennaro in just one session. “I never thought about working in a magazine until we started using InDesign at London Met,” she said.
“In the beginning it was quite stressful, but once you start practicing with it and playing around with it it’s quite fun.”
Gennaro's 7 top tips for getting a magazine job:
- Put thought into everything you do, even it's just an article for assessment
- Ask whoever you are interviewing for your magazine to lend you photos that you can use
- Make sure you use photographs that are in keeping with the identity of the article itself
- Experiment with the design and have fun; otherwise, your pages will look boring and flat. Experiment also with typeface and using colour to portray a general mood or theme.
- Use a colour background that matches the image to make the layout cohesive and aesthetically pleasing
- If you’re working on InDesign, YouTube tutorials are your best friends as they can answer all your questions
- If you want to really push your digital design career, show your professional portfolio to as many potential employers as possible
