Being The Managing Editor
Author: Katelyn Wissinger| Student, Living Education – Charlotte, 2024-25
In a recent forum, the students heard from Mr. Robinson, the managing editor for the Living Church of God. As managing editor, he is involved in the design and layout of Tomorrow’s World and Living Church News and nearly all of the church’s written and printed content. When God works in our life, He gives us the experiences we need to shape us for later in life. In his current job, Mr. Robinson employs design principles that are a key factor in increasing comprehension for the readers of Church literature.
Experiences Matter
Mr. Robinson stated that God gave him the perfect life experiences to bring him to where he is today. Despite only attending Ambassador College for one year and never finishing his degree, he had already learned the printing trade and used this knowledge to find a job in the field. He was at the right time to witness the technology boom in the print industry. At one of his first jobs, Mr. Robinson typeset business cards. After that, he landed a job at a high-end design agency, where he wondered why he was there since he had never been interested in design. Mr. Robinson worked at a print shop for 12 years before being hired by the Church.
We might have experiences in life that don’t make sense now, or we may be in situations that cause us to wonder, however, Mr. Robinson reminded us of Romans 8:28:
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
God places us in situations that prepare us for what we will later do. He has a master plan for us, and we must remember that He has a perfect end goal. We shouldn’t be discouraged, even if we are in a difficult situation that leaves us wondering why.
After 20 years of publishing experience, Mr. Robinson was offered a job as the Managing Editor of the Living Church of God. His experiences working in print shops and design suddenly became useful; one of his first projects was redesigning Tomorrow’s World Magazine. Today, design is very relevant to his job.
The Purpose of Design:
The design organizes and clarifies information to be intelligible to the reader; and conveys the essentials to them.
Principles of Design for a Managing Editor
- Structure of elements for a design and create a clear order of visual dominance between elements
- The font used and how the text is displayed matters
- Selection of color for printing and color theory
- Image & Cover Selection
Mr. Robinson provided an insightful forum into how he came to his job as Managing Editor of the Living Church of God and the importance of design. When we are left wondering why we are given a certain experience, we need to have faith that God has a master plan for us and there is a reason.
