Brandi Lynn Rollo

Graphic Designer, The Plaquemines Gazette and The St. Bernard Voice

How long have you been in creative/visual journalism, and how did you get your start?

I am a self-taught graphic designer. Before working at the newspapers, I never thought I would work in this industry.

I went to beauty school, got my cosmetology license and worked in a salon for two years.

I wasn’t patient enough to build my clientele, so I started job seeking and saw a helpwanted ad in our local newspaper. I started at the newspapers in 2009 as an office assistant and public notice clerk.

I started helping design advertisements and then designing newspaper pages. I then became the lead designer, and over the last 10 years, I’ve won many awards in the Louisiana Press Association’s newspaper competitions.

What gets (and keeps) your creative juices flowing?

Sometimes I put too much pressure on myself. Working on our two weekly newspapers and taking on too many side projects (for an extra income) at once holds back my creativity. When I feel burned out, I like to take time to myself and just turn everything off for a couple of days and then return to it.

I can’t do that much with the newspapers because we’re always on weekly deadlines. When my creative block happens, especially with my newspaper jobs, I seek out inspiring content on the internet. Google is my usual go-to. Sometimes it just takes seeing an image or watching a video to inspire me.

What advice do you have for young professionals starting out in the creative field?

My advice for young professionals who aspire to rise in this industry no matter the position: Always push yourself, be willing to learn, be dependable, be confident and love what you do. I got where I am today in my position because my bosses believed in me. I know I have something of value that they wouldn’t have without me. I give my job my all.

What do you see as the most important trend or facet of visual journalism/media creative today?

I think today’s visual journalism is about basic skills with multiple missions. We have all heard the expression “a picture is worth 1,000 words.” When the opportunity presents itself, I try to use images or graphics for our news stories. With good storytelling from the reporter in their article, it’s easier for the reader to understand a message if it’s shown visually.

Using social media is also important. I believe social media our newspapers alive in We often tease what’s happening in each week’s editions on Facebook with photos, screenshots of our newspaper pages, or simply posts with emojis to grab the user’s attention. Someone who is active on Facebook and doesn’t usually get the newspaper sees what we tease — whether it’s a pressing issue with our parish government that interests them or their grandchild was pictured on our school news page.

They will most likely buy a copy or two or call in to purchase a yearly subscription just by seeing that one Facebook post. Readers purchasing extra copies or subscriptions regularly increases our circulation and helps our newspapers survive, which keeps me having a job I love.

View Brandi Lynn Rollo’s work:

• The Plaquemines Gazette

• The St. Bernard Voice