Holiday Staff Ad - Fauquier Times

🧠 The Goal

 To celebrate the season while spotlighting the incredible team behind The Fauquier Times, this holiday ad was designed as a cheerful message to readers and a tribute to the staff that brings the paper to life.

🎨 My Role

I concepted and designed the entire piece, using Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign to create a festive, cohesive visual — despite starting with a wide range of mismatched headshots and inconsistent photo quality.

🎯 The Process

I transformed each staff member into a custom ornament, placing their headshots within three rotating colored backgrounds. The ornaments hung from a soft canopy of illustrated clouds, giving the ad a whimsical, lighthearted tone.

The biggest challenge was unifying headshots taken by different photographers, under different lighting and conditions. I applied consistent cropping, subtle retouching, and color adjustments to bring a polished, cohesive look to the group — making every team member feel like part of the same story.

💬 The Outcome

The ad was a hit internally — the staff loved seeing themselves featured in such a fun and unexpected way. It also went on to win second place in the Virginia Press Awards, recognized for creativity, originality, and execution. It was a great reminder that good design can build not just readership, but team spirit, too.