What were the goals and objectives of the entry? Who was your target audience? What were you trying to accomplish with this project?

The Summer Welcome issue of the magazine (published each semester) is to provide information to incoming students and their parents regarding all of the facilities and programs we offer. We strive to produce a one-stop piece which houses all of the basic answers to the major questions we encounter from the new class each year.

Briefly describe the project’s creative process. Did you have any limitations (e.g. budget, timeline, branding guidelines, technology issues)?

Each magazine workflow begins about 6-8 weeks before it goes to print. The creative team determines what information is needed and collects it from the various areas (registration dates, schedules, etc.), as well as tailoring the feature articles’ content to match the audience (special section for parents, etc.). The layouts are split between two designers and photos are pulled from our constantly growing archive or shot as needed. The final product is printed and distributed to dorms and other campus locations, as well as hosted online.

What were the results? How were the objectives met? What tools or assessment criteria did you use to measure your results?

The summer issue is our most widely distributed and most read, as it is handed out to parents and students at Summer Welcome fairs on campus. When freshmen know to show up at Recruitment for a job or that the Club Sports Fair is the first Wednesday after school starts, they often hear about it first from the magazine. Parents comment regularly that they enjoy taking the magazine home after the visit and having it as a reference. Online reading results are the most tangible measurement, but we also measure our order quantities each year based on the last.

Who designed/created this entry? Include the name and title of each person, as well as a brief statement of their contributions.

Veronica Morath, Graphic Designer :: page layout and design
Jennifer Seris, Creative Production Manager :: some page layout, art direction, cover photography (and minivan owner!)
David Freyermuth, Jordan Liekweg, Justin Yang – Student Photographers – all layout photos
Kayla Humphrey – Student Designer :: rough ad layouts