getting started!!!

welcome! here’s the guide :D

feel free to ask in #magazine at any point if you have questions!

step 0: project requirements

your project must be:

• not designed by ai, contains no ai art / text
• something unique - no tutorial projects (ie: average hackpad will be rejected)
• if it is hardware, it must be physically working (and have a demo video)
• strong preference for the basic demo to not require logging in
• MAKE SURE IT IS SHIPPED!!!! (ie: it entirely works, the design is polished, the repo is polished)

these types of projects will be rejected:

• projects that feel low effort (it should be something you are proud of!)
• projects that only exist within themselves (ie: a website with just basic facts on climate change)
• projects that are advertisement (ie: a site for your school / hackathon / club, and most personal sites)
• most static sites will probably be rejected if they only exist to give information (ie: blogs)

note that this is not a complete list!

additionally:

• you must be 18 or younger at the time of shipping the project

step 1: submit your project!

try to do this as soon as possible!

make a post in #magazine with:

• project name
• project description
• repo link (make sure your repo is polished! write a good readme if you haven’t already)
• demo link
• screenshots (if software) / irl pictures (if hardware)
• what program/hackathon it was originally made for (if applicable)
• approx how long you spent on it (code + art time)!
• if you are submitting for a group of people (ie: it was a hackathon project), ping them in the post

here’s an example of a ship post:

you are free to request a number of pages; however it will be highly dependent on project quality / design / polish. generally:

• simple projects (ie: hackpad) - 1/4th page (typically 5-10h)
• mid sized projects (ie: keyboard, rp2040 devboard) - 1/2th page (typically ~20h)
• large projects (ie: polished godot game that took 50+ hours) - 1 page (typically 30h+)
• advanced projects (ie: icepi sbc, cnc mill) - 2 pages (very technical projects, but project design is also considered)

on average, most projects will probably be assigned the mid projects tier. projects will be given more or less space depending on their polish, and the author’s ability to design a magazine page.

if you have multiple projects, please ship them all in the same post - then we can give you multiple attached pages for you to design with!

step 2: design your page!

use figma! this way, organizers can directly edit elements of your page and make last minute changes if necessary.

never used figma before? download here! also, tutorial here! made by yours truly :)

remember to check the main figma for page dimensions and logistics - it’s pinned in the #magazine channel :D

don’t have any ideas on what aesthetic you want? here are some:

• game ui database is full of screenshots from games - pick your favourite and take design elements from it!
• use the aesthetic of the ysws program you submitted it for!
• pick an environment you like and use its aesthetic! (ie: city night, cottagecore, makers desk, etc)
• worst case: just use the design elements from this site/program

some general design tips:

• make sure the colors you use work well together!! i recommend choosing a color palette :D
• make sure there is enough contrast between your colors
• layout is so important - make sure there is padding in your text boxes and adequate margin between your elements
• look at previously designed magazine pages to see what they did!

i recommend designing it in your own figma file - copy over the a5 sheet with bleed template, then start! when you’re done and want a review, put it into the main magazine figma.

first draft due by: jan 19, 11:59 pm est

step 3: get reviewed!

organizers (currently @acon and @gideon) will review your page by commenting in figma!

if your page has been moved into the approved section, that means it will be printed. you should still make updates if we have commented suggestions though.

if your page hasn’t been moved, that means it hasn’t been approved - please update it according to feedback and comment again when you’re ready.

most beginner-designed pages go through 2-3 whole review cycles before passing - please budget time accordingly!

final approved page due by: jan 26, 11:59 pm est

step 4: wait!

the magazine is planned to be ordered before february. it’ll probably be available to ship out to people after campfire flagship! just hold on tight :D

if you’re someone who’s good at raster art / vector design in figma and would like to help out, shoot @acon a dm!

if you’ve organized a large hack club event with many cool projects submitted to this magazine and want to make a page introducing it (ie: flavortown, shipwrecked, storyboard, blueprint), shoot @acon a dm!

this page will probably be updated as more questions are asked - if you want to add anything, let us know!

got any questions? feel free to ask in slack!

thanks for reading :D