Students expand creativity, build community through publication

On a rainy morning in early May, Cleveland Institute of Art students gathered in CIA’s Nunes Student Plaza for their first glimpse of 11:59, a 168-page student magazine of writing, art, sculpture, design, philosophy and more. The occasion was a delight for Charlotte Smoley, an Interior Architecture major who with classmate Annie Koppitch, was in charge of “experience design and promotion” for the magazine.

“When I first held 11:59, I felt pride and connection,” Smoley says. “Seeing the creative work of fellow students in a professionally produced format was inspiring, and it made me even more excited about contributing to the design world. It reminded me how powerful visual storytelling can be.”

And how such storytelling can build a powerful sense of community. 

11:59 is the second iteration of an interdisciplinary venture launched by Adam Lucas and Zach Savich two years ago. Lucas is a Graphic Design associate professor, Savich a Liberal Arts associate professor. Each had different ideas about the campus-wide project. Its 2024 launch was a 182-page magazine called Ctrl+S. But in 2025, instead of calling it, say, Ctrl+S 2.0, they opted for a more open-ended numerical sequence.

“11:59 brings to mind both deadlines and the start of a new day,” Savich says. “It suggests the urgency of the last minute and the threshold of what’s next.”

Deepening community bonds

“The creative process of developing a literary magazine is a natural extension of the art and design students are producing on campus,” says Yvette Sobky Shaffer, Vice President of Enrollment Management + Marketing at CIA. “This magazine is an extension of the professional ways students will be amplifying their work when they graduate. Learning how to curate for the printed page and to tell their stories is applicable to all of our students.”

At CIA, that learning comes from Lucas’ Publication Design course and Savich’s Publishing Workshop, both electives. 

“We saw that students at CIA are excited about publications, from zines to artists’ books to editions of students’ work,” Savich says. “We saw this interest inside and outside of classes, including from the many students in the Creative Writing minor.

“Adam has an amazing background in book design and publication across settings. My background includes work in editing and publishing. We work collaboratively as faculty—just like students do on the magazine.” Savich is particularly gratified that 11:59 is the College’s summer reading selection for new students this year. 

11:59 is page after page of art and design, touching on topics such as botany, photography, gender, fantasy-funny figurines, food, interviews about work, organisms natural and unnatural, politics, car design, furniture, medical illustration, autobiography—it goes on and on, captivating the reader with imaginative typography, creative layouts, provocative prose and graphic diversity. 

According to Savich, the magazine is the distillation of 250 submissions. They included work from BFA projects and courses at every level, along with creative work from outside the contributors’ majors.

Lucas and Savich want their students to develop critical thinking and creative problem-solving, especially within the context of a collaborative, long-term project. “This will benefit any student during and after their time at CIA,” Lucas says.

“I took this class hoping to dip my toe into the publishing world,” says Smoley. “One of the best parts about being able to take courses outside of my major is recognizing the overlap across creative fields. In college, it’s easy to become focused solely on your own path, but stepping outside of that bubble can be incredibly inspiring. For me, that’s exactly what happened, and I saw my work improve.”

Collaborative creativity

Smoley says she loved being “executive lead” on 11:59, “overseeing how we would launch the magazine and get it into students’ hands. I focused heavily on engagement, which included a fun tote bag giveaway and a bookmark-making station. The goal was to make the launch interactive and inviting, encouraging students to connect with the magazine in a hands-on way.”

“The main part of 11:59 I found most rewarding was the community cultivated through the magazine,” says Koppitch, an Animation major set to graduate in 2026. “At the launch event, I noticed students socializing with each other and showing off their own personal contribution to the magazine, all while creating a brand-new piece of art via our bookmark making session. I felt this same satisfaction when I flipped through the pages of 11:59 for the very first time—though there were mishaps and setbacks along the way, I felt we’d captured a variety of voices in the final piece that truly represents the strong community here at CIA.”

“There are so many variables and complexities to a semester-long project like this, that twists and turns—and at times surprises—are inevitable,” says Lucas. “It’s what makes teaching and learning in classes like this so fun and dynamic. You have to think on your feet, make informed decisions under pressure, and build trust in each other.”

“Creativity often means making new connections,” Savich says. “Art expands how we see, and that expands how we can think. It helps us be together in new ways. That’s exactly what happens in a publication. You select pieces to feature,  and something new emerges through the gathering.  You see meaningful connections across pieces and experiences. It helps us all understand what it means to be an artist, designer or creative writer at this moment.”

Photo caption: Painting juniors Yasmeen Kwan, left, and Nicole Alvarez hold up their copies of 11:59. Both have work in the magazine.