Skip to main content

Communications is Everywhere: Elizabeth Coburn




On May 5th, I attended a virtual discussion provided by Syracuse University's Fashion Milestone. Elizabeth Coburn, the speaker, is a junior designer at the coveted fashion magazine Teen Vogue. Coburn also graduated from Syracuse University in 2019 with a major in communications design. During college, she was an active member of  University Union and served as the design director and the art director. Before working at Teen Vogue, Elizabeth interned at Refinery29 as a Design Intern. She credits her time here for solidifying her belief that design is what she wanted to do as her profession!

Elizabeth has a vital role at Teen Vogue. She works in a small art team that consists of her and two other design staff. She works on graphics to promote events, commissions illustrators for the magazine and Instagram posts. Elizabeth also helps produce photoshoots for the magazine. In the world of fashion, having solid and well-designed social media posts is exceptionally crucial. Elizabeth and her work are essential to the branding of Teen Vogue and the face that it puts on for the public. She discussed how it takes a lot of time to find the perfect design for an Instagram post or the perfect photo to cover an article on the website! She needs to commission people who understand how to tell stories through art and understand and respect the "vibe" of Teen Vogue.

While Elizabeth does not work in public relations, she is still in the realm of communications! Her job consists of a lot of networking and working with clients to produce content used as part of the magazine's public persona. Teen Vogue is a household name, and its brand and image must stay consistent. In public relations, our job is to maintain a favorable impression of our clients. My favorite definition of public relations is from PRSA, stating, "Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics." In design, their job is to maintain a consistent image and project that to their publics. Teen Vogue readers are consuming articles that interest them, but what will pull them in is the illustrations and eye-catching photography. Elizabeth has to commission illustrators to portray stories that are consistent with the image of Teen Vogue. 

The magazine, which is online-only, has a religious following and a lot of demand. Elizabeth works with an extensive group of readers, for example, the magazine received a total of 5,500,000 visits to their website in April alone and has an astonishing 3.3 million followers on Instagram. This relates to public relations as Elizabeth is one of the three people who choose what those millions of readers get to see on the Teen Vogue socials and website! If she does not remain consistent, then the whole aesthetic and, "relationship," with the public will be damaged. Elizabeth wants to continue her employment at Teen Vogue and hopes to move up the ranks and explore all that design has to offer!





   

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Syracuse University Ultimate Breakfast Guide

Breakfast is one of the most coveted meals of the day for everyone, Syracuse University students included. Pre-coronavirus there would be swarms of students heading to Water Street Bagel Co., Oh My Darling and Rise N Shine Diner for a morning pick-me-up. COVID is a serious concern for all students and faculty, but that does not mean that we should not be able to eat our breakfast and stay safe at the same time! Here is College Corner's guide to the best and safest breakfast places in Syracuse, NY!  Water Street Bagel Co. While there is no more indoor seating, Water Street Bagel Co. is a coveted breakfast spot for Syracuse University students! It boasts wild cream cheeses such as jalapeno and pumpkin spice as well as a rosemary salt bagel! They are taking coronavirus seriously by not allowing customers to eat in the restaurant. A maximum of four people are allowed in-shop at a time, and you have to order online before coming to pick it up! Water Street Bagel Co. is most definitely a...

Speaker Spotlight: Josh Trujillo

In my PRL 215 class, I had the fantastic opportunity to listen to guest speaker Josh Trujillo speak about his career as a senior visual storyteller for none other than Starbucks! Starbucks is a crucial element in my day-to-day life, as I'm sure it is in yours! My first Starbucks drink was a double chocolate chip"venti" frappuccino when I was in middle school; from then on, Starbucks has been my best friend. I am going to extend to you all the key points I gathered from Mr.Trujillo's presentation!    Josh Trujillo is a photographer by trade. He has photographed war, the Pope and has traveled with presidents. After a successful career as a photographer, Josh took his passion and turned it into a beautiful career, sharing some of the stories of Starbucks customers and workers. In an article he wrote for Starbucks titled "Starbucks 2019: The Year in Pictures," he stated that his work with Starbucks Stories centers around the idea of documenting some of the ...