Tracie Louck - Editorial Art Direction and Design

Editorial Art Direction and Design

As the art director of several alt-weekly publications, I created many covers using original photography, curated art, and photo illustrations.

target audience

City papers are displayed on the streets and inside businesses. Their target audience includes people who are actively involved in the community, and are usually on the young side. As the designer, I'm constantly communicating with the writers, editors, illustrators and photographers to make stories enticing enough to pick up and read on the sidewalk and newsstand.

Dallas Observer,
Nov. 29, 2012

Our freelance humor writer, originally from Britain, had (understandably) developed an obsession with Texas barbecue. He wrote weekly restaurant reviews with the title “Englishman in BBQ Sauce,” and this feature was the culmination of his endeavors.

I created a tribute to the Sex Pistols “God Save The Queen” single album art, representing Britain meets Texas by Photoshopping a cowboy hat on the queen and smearing her mouth with barbecue sauce.

Dallas Observer,
Sept. 26, 2013

This cover for the annual guide to the State Fair of Texas came about from that year’s food offerings, which included a deep-fried casserole in the shape of Texas. I printed a map outline and art directed a food shoot with the staff photographer, Catherine Downes.

Dallas Observer,
April 3, 2014

This feature about a piece of human garbage who knowingly infected women with HIV needed a stark yet gripping image. A skull represents several aspects of the story, including death, evil, and also the metal scene he was a part of. And the ribbons make it clear that it involves HIV/AIDS.

The Stranger,
Nov. 22, 2017

Staff writer Sean Nelson decided to see what it was like to buy and keep a gun, to try and understand gun owners. He found it to be a terrifying experience, even imagining what it would be like to kill himself. I found this illustration by Curt Merlo to be tombstone-like, with the typewriter representing Sean and the roses representing flowers on a grave.

The Stranger,
Nov. 8, 2017

Just when Me Too was picking up steam, women at a Seattle electric company claimed there was rampant sexual harrassment in their workplace. This art by Kelly Reemtsen perfectly illustrated the feelings women were having, that they were ready to tear it all down, unapologetically.

The Stranger,
Jan. 3, 2018

The Stranger’s annual Regrets Issue is a list of the staff’s biggest and funniest mistakes through the year. I came across this art by Paul Blow, which visualizes the topic in a funny and self-deprecating way while being modern and bright.

San Antonio Current,
Oct. 17, 2018

For this Halloween-themed beer festival cover, I did a lot of word associations for ideas. Among them, the word “macabre” led me to “Danse Macabre,” which represents people from all stations of life, depicted as skeletons dancing together to their graves. I thought this was the perfect combination of both Halloween and a beer festival. Luckily, the image was public domain, and I added some woodcut-looking beer glasses in their bony hands. I also developed the headline that cleverly pairs the two ideas.

San Antonio Current,
Nov. 14, 2018

San Antonio has a burgeoning tribute band scene, so I worked with the editor to come up with this homage to them. I was thrilled that they let me change the Current’s logo as part of the design, which is rare in publication. I also pitched a headline using AC/DC lyrics, “For those about to rock, we salute you.” He liked that idea, then made it even more interesting by changing “salute” to “duplicate.”

San Antonio Current,
April 24, 2019

A feature story about a program at San Antonio College called ECO Centro, which tackles food insecurity by educating people and providing resources for growing fresh produce. I pieced this together by purchasing real seeds, photographing them, and meticulously isolating them in Photoshop. I also worked a piece of brown paper into a realistic, unique seed packet.

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