University of Dayton Redesigns Magazine

June 1, 2009 • 5:44 pm • POSTED BY lhendler

The University of Dayton, a Marianist institution, engaged us to redesign their alumni magazine. The problem is not a lot of people know what being Marianist means. One of the things it boils down to is that the Marianist philosophy is one of community spirit and an inquisitive nature. Remember the old adage, “the more you know, the less you know”? Well that’s the idea. They know a lot, but believe there is so much more out there to learn and are interested in the constant pursuit of this knowledge. Now the real challenge we faced was how to exemplify this idea in a magazine.

We were initially contracted for a simple redesign of the magazine to bring it into a more consistent look and feel with the brand we had already established. However, it became clear pretty early on that in doing so we would be doing the University—and more importantly, its audience—a tremendous disservice, by not digging deeper and ensuring all the content and design to come would be firmly rooted in the philosophy of the University and reflect this accurately. After all, digging deeper is what the University of Dayton is all about.

So we decided to refocus the editorial mission, creating a publication that would engage, entertain and educate the world beyond UD – one that would rival that of any consumer publication out there. We also learned that to truly serve the University’s interest, it needed to be more than a brochure for the University. It needed to engage readers of all types. To do this, the goal became to create a publication that anyone would want to read, and not have the audience waiting for the other shoe to drop – or the donation envelope to fall out of the binding.

Once we solidified the mission, we set criteria to help shape any and everything that would end up in the magazine.

These guiding principles are:
1. Have cultural relevance beyond UD
2. Provide educational stimulus
3. Make a concerted effort to create entertaining and engaging stories
4. Take on a modernized look with dynamic visual hierarchy

In addition to this criterion we wanted to create something the internal staff at the University would be able to maintain. We evaluated every section of the current publication from cover to cover. We made recommendations based on how to improve each section, doing away with those that were not guided by the aforementioned principles and making additions that were. With help from the University Communications Staff, we wrote and designed the sections to show strong ties to the University’s Marianist philosophy of inclusive, community-mindedness and a genuine interest in the betterment of the world. One section entitled “Conversation Pieces” provides a sampling of items of interest in fields such as the arts, culture, sports and politics.

Another section allows insight into how a Marianist would answer life’s biggest questions, aptly titled “The Big Question.” The first issue asks, “If you had $2 Billion to help solve the world’s problems, which one would you choose?

One of the feature articles focused on political satire, and showcased the best and worst to come out of the 2008 Presidential election. It also provided us with an opportunity to interview Pentagram’s Paula Scher.

Another feature shed light on the everyday struggle of a village in Cameroon who lacked access to clean drinking water and the steps being taken to provide such access.

As for the cover, well that didn’t exactly go our way. We felt strongly that there needed to be a pretty significant departure from the current magazine in a lot of ways, but that the previously entitled publication, “University of Dayton Quarterly” could be a good basis for the new title of the magazine. We felt UDQ was the GQ of the University Magazine world. It paid homage to its ancestor while still showcasing a certain level of modernity. However, the University chose to go with the tried and true University of Dayton Magazine. Here is the original recommended cover and the final cover they selected.

Credits:
160over90
Creative Directors: Jim Walls, Darryl Cilli
Designers: Lindsey Gice
Illustrators: Adam Garcia, Dewey Saunders, Steven E. Hughes, Renee Nault
Copywriter: Brad Failor
Account Executive: Lindsay Hendler
Photographer: Tom Ammon
Production Managers and Artists: Rosemary Fahmie, Chris Van Auken, Tim Beitz
Traffic Manager: Bridget Yarusso, Jillian Jeffers

University Communications:
Vice President, University Advancement: Deborah Read
Associate Vice President, University Communications: Teri Rizvi
Assistant Vice President, University Marketing: Tracy Hughes
Director, Communications: Michelle Tedford
Assistant Directors, Senior Editors: Thomas Columbus, Matthew Dewald
Senior Editor: Maureen Schlangen
Production Manager: Jeaneen Parsons
Art Directors: Lisa Coffey, Frank Pauer
Designer: Gina Gray
Photographer: Larry Burgess