The Punahou Bulletin, mailed to the 30,000+ alumni and others in our school community, published two of its most well-received issues ever in 2020: The Journey Home (spring 2020) and Kuana‘ike (summer/fall 2020). Over the past year, the magazine has been completely redesigned to feature more compelling photography, stories, and design. For the Journey Home, we chose a topic that resonates strongly with our alumni, half of whom live outside Hawai‘i. It acknowledges a common trajectory: graduating from Punahou, attending a college outside Hawai‘i, then pursuing respective careers away from home. Many alumni, however, want to return home, but are worried about keeping their careers intact, which is what the cover package addressed.
Kuana‘ike was another special issue, appearing a few months after COVID-19 began. Every year, Punahou selects a theme for the school year. For 2020-21, it's “kuana‘ike,” which in Hawaiian translates roughly to “perspective.” As a community, we were challenged to consider opportunities and possibilities, and encouraged to focus on kuana‘ike or perspective. So, as a magazine, we did. We asked 10 alumni and faculty photographers, some globally recognized, to submit a photo that reflects kuana‘ike, and to write about how their photo reflects perspective. We were blown away by the beauty and depth of the submissions, and allowed it to flow over 22 pages.
From the Judges
Wow, what beautiful magazines! We absolutely loved how the alumni's photography was featured, and we were moved at the beauty of these magazines.
