Heart Lab: Parasol Mag

Like me, I'm sure you can't wait until a new issue of [insert your favorite online mag here] comes out. As you *flip through the never ending pages of inspirational images, interviews with your favorite artists... do you ever wonder how it all came together? What does it take to create a killer online mag? How much work and how many hours actually go into creating just one issue?

Yasmine, editor of Parasol kindly agreed to give us a peek of the making of an issue:

1.) Inspiration Day! - I spend about a day or a weekend reading, walking around my neighborhood or nearby towns, the flea markets, online, etc.

2.) Concepting - 6 hours to a day - I mostly doodle and play around with layouts.

3.) Contacting features by email or phone - A handful of hours, sometimes more if I or my interviewee feels chatty!

4.) Design & Layout - 3-6 hours, sometimes more because I get carried away and end up making multiple options.

5.) Following up, tying loose ends - 2-3 hours


6.) Finalizing Design & Layout - 2-3 hours

7.) Proofreading - 2-3 hours

8.) Uploading files - A few minutes

9.) Marketing and Promotion - Ongoing-- I announce in my blogs, contact blogs, mags, social networking sites, online communities. It's important to keep the mag and its features visible. The best marketing tool for me has been word of mouth.

10.) Email the featured individuals, groups and advertisers that the mag is up and I give lots of thanks.

11.) Sleep in, have a relaxing day or go on a mini vacation during the weekend. I design and draw full time so most of my hours are taken, but I make sure I have at least one weekend to recharge.

So next time you click that download button, remember all the hard work that went into it and be sure to pay the advertisers a visit, the folks that keep the lights on! AND if you really enjoyed the issue, give the editor a shout - I'm sure he/she would appreciate the feedback and the love!! Thanks Yasmine!!