Publisher brand guidelines
I applied supplied branding from McClatchy publications and partners, including Us Weekly and Woman’s World, to newsletter and marketing CRM layouts.
02 / CRM / Newsletter Systems / Landing Pages
McClatchy
One newsletter program. Distinct publishers. Clear reading paths.
Explore Holiday Prep Guide ↗Destinations
Scorecard Highlights
Around Sacramento
Publications & publishing partners
The task
The non-subscriber newsletter program needed to connect readers with relevant editorial content and subscription opportunities across multiple publications. The design had to balance publisher identity, stories, advertisements and subscription prompts within recurring sends.
My contribution
I designed and built shared newsletter templates, advertising placements, subscription promotions and landing pages. I applied publisher guidelines and organized recurring newsletter production.
The approach
Reusable story, advertising and subscription modules with publisher-specific brand treatments, supported by Braze implementation, Email on Acid QA and connected editorial landing pages.
What shipped
Newsletter design and production across 12 vertical newsletters and 15 local-market editions, supporting 25+ recurring weekly sends, plus editorial landing pages.
Visual System
A shared editorial foundation, with distinct visual treatments for each newsletter and landing page.
Scorecard Highlights illustrates the editorial hierarchy and sports action treatment. Destinations and other topics carry their own mastheads.
Color
#0F1521Editorial ink
#13BACFSports action accent
#F5F7FAEmail canvas
#FFFFFFContent surface
Typeface
Noto Sans
AaBbCc Gg Qq 0123456789
Display, body and action type in the Scorecard Highlights newsletter template.
RegularBold
Actions & patterns
Scorecard Highlights uses a high-contrast rounded action beneath the story collection.
Reusable pattern
A reusable text-led subscription promotion I designed for the newsletter program.
Explore the actual work
One program. Distinct brands. Connected reading experiences.
Explore CRM emails and recurring newsletter layouts built with supplied publisher branding, followed by the Miami Home Buyers Guide and Holiday Prep Guide.
Destinations
Scorecard Highlights
Home & Living
Savvy Fare
The Well
Wild Wonders
The Civic Report
The Trailhead
Bargain Hunter
Around Sacramento
Student Section
Landing pages
From the inbox to an editorial destination.
Miami Home Buyers Guide
The Miami Home Buyers Guide organizes featured stories, financial topics and practical guides. The interactive preview uses sample articles.
Explore the guide ↗Holiday Prep Guide
Explore seasonal sections and archived newsletter editions. The portfolio preview uses illustrative story photographs.
Explore the guide ↗01
The task & my contribution
Program purpose
The non-subscriber program connects national topics and local-market news with publisher content and subscription opportunities. Newsletter layouts make the stories, advertising placements and subscription prompts work together within that purpose.
My design and production scope
I designed and built the shared newsletter layouts and reusable modules, CRM emails and text-led subscription promotions. I incorporated advertising placements, applied publisher guidelines, organized recurring production and used Email on Acid for rendering QA.
Publisher and editorial inputs
The Sacramento Bee, Miami Herald, Us Weekly and Woman’s World supplied their existing branding. I applied it to newsletter and marketing layouts. Editorial copy and photography filled the story modules; my work was the layout, hierarchy, reusable structure and production experience.
Beyond the inbox
I also designed and built the Miami Home Buyers Guide, Holiday Prep Guide and a World Cup sports landing page. The available guide previews show the responsive editorial destinations alongside the newsletters.
02
Editorial structure & lifecycle decisions
Separate the jobs each module performs
Lead stories establish the topic; supporting rows extend it. Advertising has a defined placement, while subscription prompts carry their own text and action. This keeps editorial, commercial and lifecycle content identifiable within the same newsletter.
Make the subscription prompt self-contained
The Sports Pass module pairs “Only interested in sports?” with a short offer and an explicit subscription action. It can carry a focused message without asking the reader to interpret a separate visual campaign.
Adapt the brand without changing the reading logic
Each publication keeps its masthead, palette and typography. Shared story and action patterns make recurring assembly consistent across national topics and local editions.
Sports Pass subscription placement
Miami reading hierarchy
Seasonal editions
03
Production QA
Rendering across email clients
I used Email on Acid to inspect typography, image behavior, spacing and module placement. Table-based layouts, inline styles and font fallbacks supported consistent rendering where clients interpret HTML differently.
Read the whole edition
The review includes the story sequence, advertising and subscription placement, and footer. Landing-page navigation continues the editorial hierarchy beyond the email.
04
Reusable systems
A reusable module vocabulary
Mastheads, lead stories, supporting rows, text links, commerce cards, advertising placements, subscription prompts and footers provide a repeatable structure. Topic and publisher treatments vary within it.
Assembly rules you can inspect
The module guide below documents the role of each pattern using excerpts from the finished newsletters. The supporting editions show how those patterns combine across travel, nature and local news.
Recurring program scope
The 27-newsletter program comprises 12 vertical newsletters and 15 local-market editions, with 25+ recurring weekly sends. I organized newsletter production and maintained the shared template structure across those editions.
Pattern roles & assembly rules
A module has a job, a content structure and a place in the edition. Explore excerpts from the finished newsletter HTML alongside the assembly rules.
- Purpose
- Establish the topic and the first reading destination.
- Pattern & variation
- Publisher-specific image, headline and introduction.
- Usage rule
- Keep the image, story heading and summary together. Supporting items follow the lead rather than competing with it.
05
Design through implementation
Email implementation
HTML tables, inline styles and email-client fallbacks translated the designs into newsletters. Braze templates handled content and conditional modules, including advertisement and subscription placements, while Email on Acid supported rendering review.
Landing-page implementation
Responsive HTML, CSS and JavaScript organize editorial content into reusable landing-page sections. Navigation and sponsor controls stay close to the content they affect.
06
Accessibility
Readable content, clear navigation
Headings, image alternatives, text padding and font fallbacks support reading across email clients. Landing-page sections and explicit actions make the next step easy to identify.
07
The finished work
Delivered scope
CRM newsletter layouts, reusable story and promotional modules, advertising placements and recurring production across a 27-newsletter program.
Connected destinations
Miami Home Buyers Guide, Holiday Prep Guide and World Cup landing-page work extend the scope beyond email. The available guide previews demonstrate editorial hierarchy and responsive implementation.
Delivered work
A 27-newsletter program. 25+ recurring weekly sends.
