Shaping Stories with Erin
- Woman Up Cleveland
- Apr 1
- 12 min read
Erin Stinard - Art Director of Cleveland Magazine
Beyond the digital realm, the art of printed material is alive and well, especially when it comes to Cleveland’s News scene. Leading the charge, Cleveland Magazine put out its first issue in April of 1972, and over 50 years later, it continues its own legacy, publishing 12 issues a year. Clevelanders, young and old, turn to the publication regularly for news stories, local recommendations, and, of course, some of their biggest annual events and issues: Best of the East / West / Cleveland, Most Interesting People, & Best Places to Live.
We often forget to pull back the curtain on things that seem to have always been. Magazines, newspapers, and other sources of information tend to get overshadowed by the ease of social media, and it often goes unnoticed just how much work goes into ideating, creating, and distributing these publications. In comes Erin Stinard. Designer, Clevelander, and Art Director of Cleveland Magazine, Erin is the master behind the scenes, ensuring that every cover is eye-catching enough to make you step back into the world of print material.
Erin grew up in Bay Village and began her journey to Art Director by pursuing a degree in new media and communication technology with a minor in design at The Ohio State University. After being told that print form media “wouldn’t exist” by the time she finished school in 2016, Erin was prepared to tackle whatever form of new media took its place. To her surprise, her first love of print materials was there waiting for her after graduation.
She had always seen herself working in magazines, and growing up often had the vision of working in New York City at a major fashion magazine. Once she shared this dream with college mentors, she was directed to the marketing and new media department and encouraged to pursue her passions for visual communications. Landing an internship at Great Lakes Publishing, the publisher of Cleveland Magazine, Ohio Magazine, and other local publications, gave her the opportunity to learn more about the industry and how her dreams could become a reality, right here in her home city.
“I had never really thought about how there were magazines in Cleveland. There happened to be an internship open in their production department, designing advertisements for local businesses who may not have the budget for a big design firm. And that’s how I got started there,” Erin shared.
Her appreciation for design and the art of it all shines through anytime Erin speaks about her work and her journey to Art Director. Citing a love for art class as a child, she recalls realizing that blank canvases were often intimidating, and she more often would gravitate toward making something that already existed in the world, more beautiful. She certainly has an understanding of the importance of design, especially in print material, to not only grab someone's attention, but encourage them to read and care about the story behind the imagery.
She told us, “With art, you’re kind of coming up with something that isn’t there, and with design, you’re telling a story that someone else has, and you get to be more of a vessel for that. I always had an opinion on how I wanted things to look and how I felt things could be communicated. I wanted to do something creative but with a purpose.”
As for how her day-to-day at Cleveland Magazine looks, Erin said she mainly focuses on the print publication, as well as some social media and digital design. Each monthly cover concept
is dreamt up by Erin, and whether it be an illustration or image, she oversees the entire process
from brainstorm to print alongside editor, Dillon Stewart. She attends the photoshoots, designs the cover packages, and oversees their creation on the art side of things, as well as creating any design materials the magazine may need for social media or other projects.
“Today I picked out fonts for a project we are working on, looking at June to start brainstorming, but then also designing pages for May, working on the digital rollout for the April issue, and reviewing some video and social media clips. Day-to-day, it's a lot of small posts and sometimes breaking news that have to be quickly put together, as well as page design and working together with the editors,” Erin shared.
It is clear that Erin’s position reaches far beyond that of a designer and that her true title is more in the realm of the storyteller. She uses her talent and eye for beauty to create covers and content that speaks to people and conveys the story that months magazine is aiming to tell. With this effort to share stories, she often finds herself out in the community, connecting with the real people behind the articles.
Touching on the community impact of her work, she told us, “I don’t know if I could have a job that connected me to different parts of the city more honestly. When I started working here, I learned a lot about Cleveland. Cover shoots are fun because I get to meet the people we are writing about. I’m around interviews, but I don’t usually do them, so the photoshoots are fun because I get to talk to them myself.”
She cited Fox 8 anchor Natalie Herbick, fashion designer Cierra Boyd, Mayor Justin Bibb and
freelance photographers Megann Galehouse, Kaitlin Walsh, and Jeani Brechbill as people she has worked with and met along the way who have made her experience so enjoyable. Not only is her opportunity to connect with the interviewee rewarding, but her work alongside other artists and experts in their fields makes the experience that much more magical and meaningful. Her desire during our talk to mention as many incredible collaborators as possible shows that her work truly connects such talented people to each other to create important and breathtaking work.
Erin has a deep understanding of how her work reaches beyond the page and connects real people to their own communities. Whether it be to gain support for a cause, get recommendations for a celebratory dinner, or learn more about the players on their favorite sports team, readers can connect visually with the content they are reading about, thanks to Erin’s expertise and dedication.
“It's really nice to be able to meet people and see them excited to be in the magazine, and also then be able to go to dinner at Cordelia and know Vinnie is there and know the backstory behind the restaurant. It's really cool to not only learn about the things people are so talented in and doing and starting up right here in the city, but then going to these places after just feels much more intentional, and that’s been really cool,” she said.
We touched on the hate Cleveland often receives and how people like Erin are constantly showing the rest of the world all of the amazing gems our city and community have to offer. She knows better than anyone how the people doing things in our city make us not only a better place, but an interesting place worth traveling to and living in. Her work and passions are so people-driven, and although it can feel glamorous to be meeting people in photoshoots, at the end of the day, she and her team are telling the stories of the people in our city to the world.
Erin said, “One of the things that is interesting is that there are a lot of subscribers who aren’t in Cleveland. A lot of that is people who relocated, and the magazine is how they stay tied and know what's going on here. We definitely have a lot of big events here. This time last year was super busy; a lot of people had eyes on us. Almost anything that happens here is work for me.”
We asked Erin to share a bit more about her coolest pinch-me moments with this position, especially having met lots of amazing people. She told us, “Every year, my favorite project is our most interesting people issue in January. We cover 20-25 people, from someone who is on center stage in the city to your neighbor who you never knew was crazy talented in something. We try to set up as many photoshoots as we can with those people, and it's like three days where I get to meet the most people.”
Some of her other favorite projects include many of the sports-based issues. Not only are Clevelanders passionate about their teams, but these features can often get more national attention as well. She gave a special shout-out to this month's (April 2025) issue featuring Tristan Thompson and Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers where the players interviewed each other for the magazine as a project that she has really enjoyed recently.
Throughout our chat, Erin often mentioned working on projects and cover designs months before the actual issue is published, which led us to ask more about the challenges that come with working months ahead of the current date every day. She said, “From a magazine
standpoint, it forces this aspect of ‘What is the angle of the story that no one else is talking
about? What can we say that no one else has already and probably won’t?’ She shared that it
can be difficult to balance real life and work life in that sense, but it can often lead to unique
perspectives, but also unforeseen mishaps. As an example, for the April issue of 2020, our cover package was 200 Things to Do to Get You Out and About in Cleveland and we went to print with it I think on March 10th, and the next day we all had to start working from home and we were like ‘What do we do?’”
Personally, Erin joked about how funny it can be to begin talking about January in July and August and how it often leads to her being ready for the coming seasons or holidays, quicker than family and friends. She also told us about how the workload can look with many issues being juggled at once, saying, “We are typically working earlier and earlier, which makes it even more confusing. When I first started working, it was a very strict 4-5 week schedule. We’ve just been able to diversify our workloads across all our platforms a lot more when we spread out the print planning. So we are always working on the digital rollout of the issue that was just released, while designing for the next issue, and the issue after that is in the photo collection stage, and the next is at the story pitching stage. Now we are at a place where we are working on about four issues at a time.”
Erin also touched on the difficulty that comes with working in the print industry during the time of the internet and how our rapid access to information can make the business of sharing news more challenging. It all comes down to the quality of the story that is being told and the connections people are able to have between the subject, storytellers, and readers. She told us, “It's easy to always feel behind because there is always something new. It's easy to compare ourselves to other publications, but there's still that magazine story where we can spend time with it more, and maybe say something people haven't yet. Whether we are online or in print, we try to do that with all of the stories so that it stays with us.”
Work in the magazine industry is not for the weak. From staying creative and innovative to planning so far ahead that you forget what month you’re actually in, it can be hard to keep up with the news and roll with the punches. As well as battling the rise of online media and continuing to keep print relevant and successful, there can be many pressures for those trying to tell the stories of others.
We asked Erin what advice she would give to anyone looking to enter the industry, and she went back to the advice that led her to where she is today, touching on the mentality of print becoming obsolete one day. She said, “My interest was always more print-focused, so for anyone going into media, if the interest initially lies with the curiosity of telling stories, it's really cool that there are so many avenues to do that with both digital and print on so many different platforms. At the heart of it, it is still the visual storytelling. Diversifying a skillset to be able to use a lot of those. A little bit of the obstacle is that, like I said, when I started, it was very print-focused, but now I manage a lot of digital as well.”
Her advice of being well-versed in many different media paints a picture of the ever-evolving world of media and its connection to its consumers. Being able to roll with the punches is certainly a major part of this work, and Erin cites her, and the magazines, relationships with other artists as a driving factor behind success. She is aware of her abilities and knows that professionals in photography and other artistic fields can contribute to the projects in ways that her team alone can’t. Collaboration is a huge part of the job, and being able to work alongside others has proven to create truly meaningful and impactful relationships.
Being able to see one's own abilities for what they are and supplementing what may not come naturally to them makes for not only a great leader, but for a better project. Erin has a gift for seeing the value in the talents and skills of others and using that to further everyone’s success. Through this question, Erin mentioned realizing that the people she works with frequently are often women, and she touched on how important it can be to recognize these beneficial collaborations and not take for granted the power that comes with women working together.
Especially when it comes to networking, specifically with other women, she shared, “I’m in a position where I am hiring talented people. Finding a group of women who are interested and supportive, who you also support, is so important. Abigail Archer, who is our associate art director, is honestly a rock star who does a lot for the magazine and a lot of our digital stuff. Before I was Art Director, I worked with Jessa Hendershot, who was the art director for a little bit. Maria Amador was the art director when I started, and she is now assistant art director for the Wall Street Journal. There are so many women in this area doing amazing things in art and design.”
As for her future, Erin sees her professional career continuing with the magazine and focusing more on the brand of the publication and launching more projects to continue to grow brand awareness. She has found herself interested in the branding aspect of things and how it works hand in hand with the journalism end of things. She hopes to continue this growth and see where the magazine's success can continue to rise.
Personally, she has reflected on past dreams of moving to a huge city and working at a massive publication, and now knows that Cleveland is really the place for her. She has fallen in love with not only her work but her city and plans to continue exploring and showing off all the community has to offer. She said, “I imagine myself staying here, and I know that the thing I love about my job now, in addition to the design, is the aspect of being involved in the community. Working on and around things that are really important to people here, whether it's culture, sports, or art. I get to do the visual storytelling for the things that really matter here.”
One of our favorite parts of our talk with Erin was at the very end when we were discussing her future goals and aspirations. She mentioned feeling content with not having a ‘five-year plan’ or knowing every detail of what may be to come. As women, we so often feel a need to have it all figured out and have all the answers, whether that be personally or professionally. And although this pressure is so universal, we have encountered so many women, like Erin, who have found themselves happy in the now and not overwhelmed with the urge to be ahead of what makes them happy in the moment.
She continued on the topic by saying, “I don’t really have any specific goals. That would have bothered me a couple of years ago to not really knowing where I see myself in five years, but I think it's a good thing. It just means I like what I am doing now. There's this feeling and pressure to have a plan or know what the future is going to look like. I think that robs you a little bit of the present, and when you’re always moving forward and looking forward, slowing down to appreciate where you are is important. When I was younger, I would have been nervous to say I don’t know what I want to do, but now I am not.”
It can be so easy to see yourself in other people, and Erin Stinard's work at Cleveland Magazine is a prime example of the power that connection can have. She is passionate, skilled, and intentional both professionally and personally, and the city is truly lucky to have such a thoughtful soul telling their stories. Her creativity and inspirational design abilities are obvious in each cover and social post that the magazine sends out, and she is such an essential part of the storytelling process for one of Cleveland’s biggest publications. Erin is so dedicated to sharing stories in a visually compelling way, and that is what makes her work, and that of the entire Cleveland Magazine team, connect with its readers and the community. She truly embodies what it means to be a Clevelander and to humbly brag about our great city.
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