From the Nominator

"People tend to forget that Rochester Institute of Technology has some of the leading art and design programs in the nation. And the old RIT University Magazine didn’t do much to help them remember.  

We underwent an in-house refresh to emphasize our design heritage while still embracing the technology side of the university.    

Here’s what we did:  

•  We turned our sequential approach to feature stories—interview sources, write copy, take photos, and then design pages—into a collaborative approach where writers, editors, photographers, and designers meet multiple times throughout the news-gathering process to create a unified vision for the feature.   

•  We leveled up our photography. Our photos today have unique perspectives, dramatic lighting, and vibrant colors. We accomplished this by having designers articulate their vision both before and during the photo shoot.  

•  In the past, one staff member designed the entire magazine. We brought all four of our staff designers onto the magazine team to bring more energy, design diversity, and an element of surprise to each publication.   

•  We came up with creative ways to tell stories, breaking large stories into shorter pieces and adding photo essays. We now keep our writing tight, bringing a better balance between copy, photography, and design.   

•  We began giving our print publication a longer shelf life by turning magazine features into custom-designed web pages that mirror their print counterparts.   

The result is a more engaging magazine that better represents RIT’s brand of technology, arts, and design."

From the Judges

Great improvement in print quality and design without much increase in cost. Nice variety of writing pieces throughout. Alumni have responded to the improvements made and are reaching out to receive their copy. Great work RIT team!