Creative Direction, UX, Content: Sinuous Magazine
Building a Multicultural Editorial Brand, Community, and Digital Platform
Overview
I led creative direction, content strategy, and digital development for Sinuous Magazine, a multicultural publication exploring art, entertainment, fashion, technology, and social issues.
The publication was built for a largely college-educated audience of women of color seeking nuanced, multifaceted representations of themselves across culture and media.
My challenge was to transform Sinuous from a popular blog into a recognizable editorial brand and scalable digital publication. That meant connecting brand identity, website experience, editorial content, social media, audience growth, and the underlying technology into one cohesive ecosystem.
Over time, the platform grew to reach 2.5 million readers and established partnerships with brands including MassMutual, Heineken, Marriott, Jergens, BET Awards, EXPRESS, Budweiser’s Made in America Festival, and PopSugar.
From Blog to Publication
Sinuous began as a blog with an engaged audience, but its growth required a more intentional brand and digital foundation.
I identified opportunities across the entire experience:
- Clarifying the publication’s visual identity
- Improving website usability and content discovery
- Establishing scalable editorial and content workflows
- Growing social media presence and community engagement
- Improving technical performance and search visibility
- Building relationships with brands, artists, and cultural partners
Rather than treating these as separate initiatives, I approached them as connected parts of the same product experience.
Brand Identity
The Sinuous identity needed to balance boldness, cultural relevance, and editorial credibility.
I developed a flexible visual system built around rotating color palettes and Gotham typography. The system reflected the publication’s personality: modern, expressive, and intentionally complex.
The identity extended across:
- Logo and brand system
- Brand guidelines
- Business cards
- Media kits
- Website experience
- Editorial graphics
- Social media content
The result was a more cohesive and recognizable brand presence across digital and physical touchpoints.
Website & Digital Experience
I led the responsive redesign of the WordPress and Twitter Bootstrap-powered website, focusing on usability, content hierarchy, and discoverability.
The redesign supported a growing editorial ecosystem where readers could move seamlessly between breaking news, cultural commentary, interviews, fashion, and local events.
Key areas of focus included:
- Information architecture and content organization
- Responsive UX and visual design
- Editorial templates and content presentation
- SEO and search visibility
- Performance optimization
- Scalable publishing infrastructure
The website ultimately attracted approximately 2.5 million readers across major markets including New York, London, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and Washington, D.C.
Performance & Technology
Alongside the design and editorial work, I managed aspects of the platform’s technical infrastructure.
I developed a database backup and recovery strategy, supported server troubleshooting, and optimized the WordPress environment.
Results included:
- 43% reduction in website load times
- Improved SEO performance
- 99.99% uptime target
- Scalable AWS infrastructure supporting millions of external users
Editorial Strategy & Cultural Programming
Content was central to Sinuous’s identity.
I worked closely with in-house and freelance writers and designers to develop daily editorial programming spanning fashion, art, music, entertainment, technology, and social issues.
My responsibilities included editorial direction, content development, performance analysis, and creative feedback across a multidisciplinary team.
But the editorial strategy extended beyond publishing content.
Sinuous became a platform for discovering emerging artists, musicians, events, and cultural conversations that were often overlooked by mainstream media.
I developed relationships with:
- Publicists and record labels
- Musicians, DJs, and producers
- Artists and photographers
- Event promoters and city cultural organizations
- Fashion and lifestyle brands
These relationships helped establish Sinuous as a collaborator and discovery platform rather than simply another media outlet.
Stories That Mattered
We intentionally covered difficult and underrepresented issues affecting marginalized communities, including police brutality, racism, misogyny, misogynoir, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Trans Day of Remembrance, intimate partner and child abuse, fat-shaming, and misinformation campaigns.
One investigative article I researched and published about the murder of nine-year-old Brisenia Flores and her father was later referenced in Erroll Southers’ Homegrown Violent Extremism.
This experience reinforced an important principle in my work: design and content are not neutral. The platforms we build influence whose stories are visible, how communities connect, and what conversations are possible.
Social Media & Community Growth
Social media was an extension of the publication, not simply a promotional channel.
I developed content strategies across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr, evaluating emerging platforms based on audience fit and business value.
I balanced editorial consistency with experimentation in:
- Content formats
- Community engagement
- Sponsored content, e.g. Editor’s Pick: Jergens Shea Beauty Oil
- Native advertising
- Visual storytelling
- Platform-specific design treatments
Audience Reach
| Platform | Followers |
|---|---|
| 10,107 | |
| 3,348 | |
| Tumblr | 1,474 |
| 378 |
I also regularly monitored analytics and audience behavior to understand which content resonated, where readers were discovering us, and how we could improve reach and engagement.
My Role
As the creative and digital lead, I worked across strategy, design, content, technology, and partnerships.
- Led responsive website redesign and digital experience strategy
- Developed and maintained the brand identity system across print and digital
- Directed editorial and social content strategy
- Managed SEO-focused publishing workflows that contributed to 2.5 million readers
- Led social media strategy, community engagement, and audience development
- Built partnerships with national brands, artists, musicians, and cultural organizations
- Interviewed, hired, mentored, and managed multidisciplinary writers and designers
- Established readability, accessibility, and content quality guidelines
- Reviewed analytics to improve content performance and reader experience
- Managed database infrastructure, backup/recovery, and technical troubleshooting
- Optimized WordPress performance and supported AWS deployment
What I Learned
Designing for Communities, Not Just Transactions
Sinuous taught me that digital products can be more than functional interfaces or individual transactions.
We were building an editorial ecosystem where people came to discover content, develop interests, find representation, and connect with a broader community.
That experience shaped how I approach product design today.
I think about not only what users need to accomplish, but also:
- What brings people back?
- How does a platform help people discover something meaningful?
- How do visual identity and content shape trust?
- How can design strengthen relationships between people and communities?
Those questions continue to influence my work across product, brand, and digital experiences.
