Case Study:
Worshipping the Weekend: Transcending Isla Vista’s Ritualistic Nightlife
WORD Magazine's 57th issue needed editorial that could hold its own against the noise of campus life — something with a strong point of view and a visual identity to match.
Isla Vista's party culture is well-documented, but rarely interrogated. Rather than a surface-level nightlife feature, the piece uses the language of religion and ritual to examine why IV's party scene functions less like a choice and more like a doctrine, with interviews from students, recovery program directors, and campus administrators adding depth to the reporting.
Structured around a congregation metaphor — beliefs, rituals, revelation, transcendence — the story moves through IV nightlife as a belief system. The framing creates room to complicate the premise, pushing back on the myth that everyone in IV is partying hard and arriving somewhere more nuanced than a cautionary tale.
Worshipping the Weekend ran as a lead feature in WORD's print issue, paired with a photo illustration that extended the piece's visual metaphor across the spread.
Case Study:
Worshipping the Weekend: Transcending Isla Vista’s Ritualistic Nightlife
WORD Magazine's 57th issue needed editorial that could hold its own against the noise of campus life — something with a strong point of view and a visual identity to match.
Isla Vista's party culture is well-documented, but rarely interrogated. Rather than a surface-level nightlife feature, the piece uses the language of religion and ritual to examine why IV's party scene functions less like a choice and more like a doctrine, with interviews from students, recovery program directors, and campus administrators adding depth to the reporting.
Structured around a congregation metaphor — beliefs, rituals, revelation, transcendence — the story moves through IV nightlife as a belief system. The framing creates room to complicate the premise, pushing back on the myth that everyone in IV is partying hard and arriving somewhere more nuanced than a cautionary tale.
Worshipping the Weekend ran as a lead feature in WORD's print issue, paired with a photo illustration that extended the piece's visual metaphor across the spread.
More WORD Work:
To Network or Not to Network: Is LinkedIn a Career Builder or a Comparison Trap?
One of the first pieces published in WORD's 56th issue, themed Hunger, this story took a creative angle on the concept. I explored college students' appetite for career advancement and how that ambition plays out through the curated connections and performative self-promotion of platforms like LinkedIn.
contact me!
Case Study:
Worshipping the Weekend: Transcending Isla Vista’s Ritualistic Nightlife
WORD Magazine's 57th issue needed editorial that could hold its own against the noise of campus life — something with a strong point of view and a visual identity to match.
Isla Vista's party culture is well-documented, but rarely interrogated. Rather than a surface-level nightlife feature, the piece uses the language of religion and ritual to examine why IV's party scene functions less like a choice and more like a doctrine, with interviews from students, recovery program directors, and campus administrators adding depth to the reporting.
Structured around a congregation metaphor — beliefs, rituals, revelation, transcendence — the story moves through IV nightlife as a belief system. The framing creates room to complicate the premise, pushing back on the myth that everyone in IV is partying hard and arriving somewhere more nuanced than a cautionary tale.
Worshipping the Weekend ran as a lead feature in WORD's print issue, paired with a photo illustration that extended the piece's visual metaphor across the spread.
More WORD Work:
To Network or Not to Network: Is LinkedIn a Career Builder or a Comparison Trap?
One of the first pieces published in WORD's 56th issue, themed Hunger, this story took a creative angle on the concept. I explored college students' appetite for career advancement and how that ambition plays out through the curated connections and performative self-promotion of platforms like LinkedIn.
contact me!