Penn Engineering Magazine Spring 2014

We are happy to share the most recent edition of Penn Engineering, the alumni magazine for the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science. We've been working with the school for nearly a decade and each magazine offers us more opportunity for creativity as we help them to illustrate the impressive work done by Penn engineers. 

Creating Compelling Stories with Video

While we always enjoy a well-crafted paragraph or an elegantly designed publication, sometimes the best way to tell your story is through an expertly shot and edited video. Video brings voice and image to the stories that make your institution unique and allows the character of your school to emerge. For prospective students, it allows them to identify with your current students. For your donors, it enables them to witness the impact of their contributions. We love short, compelling, topic-based videos for these purposes, like the ones we developed for the College of William & Mary.

Temple University Alumni Weekend Publications

Alumni Weekend Poster        

Reunion Invitation

This spring, Kelsh Wilson partnered with Temple University to promote their Alumni Weekend. The suite of materials KWD created included reunion invitations, postcards, and supporting event collateral. Based on the theme “What is your Temple?”, the pieces were designed to complement Temple’s brand and featured bold graphics and a lively, inviting color palette. We've worked with Temple in the past and it was great to return to this dynamic campus for another creative project. 

University of Pennsylvania Alumni Weekend Publications

For the past five years KWD has worked with the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Relations office to create invitations, ads, and an event guide for their Alumni Weekend. The goal of these pieces is always to engage and excite alumni and to persuade them to return to campus. One challenge with these kinds of publications is to keep them appealing and fresh while invoking the long connection and history many of their alumni feel. Another task is to convey a large volume of information in a small package, as Penn hosts hundreds of activities and events throughout the weekend. School colors feature prominently in these pieces for obvious reasons, but they are kept clean and crisp with typography and design. 

Foster Loyalty

Your Audiences: Communications Messages for Everyone (#3 in a series)

Annual Fund & Reunion Publications

It’s exciting to talk about capital campaigns—major strategic initiatives, large fundraising goals, beautiful publications—but the reality is that all institutions rely heavily on their annual fund to support their day-to-day operations and on reunion to invite alums back to campus. Design that is eye-catching and persuasive supports the hard work of your development staff—whether they are fundraising or “friendraising.”

Annual fund and reunion publications should cultivate a sense of school pride—through great stories, compelling images, and striking design. Color and type play a big role in these pieces because they are relatively copy-dense often with a call to action, instructions, and event listings.

Ultimately, alumni communications are about fostering loyalty in your institution, moving faithful donors to continue their support, compelling new contributions, and urging all alums to return to their alma mater.

Here are a few annual fund pieces we have created:

Malvern Prep

Bryn Mawr College

Here's some more recent work supporting reunions: 

Temple University

University of Pennsylvania

Penn Engineering Magazine Fall 2013

We're happily working on the Spring issue of Penn Engineering--we've completed the photo shoot and designs are underway. Stay posted for the new piece in May. In the meantime, here is last fall's issue that features the new Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology. 

The College of William & Mary Videos

KWD photographer, Kevin Monko worked on a few videos for the most recent edition of Ringing Far & Near, the College of William & Mary's online alumni magazine. They are short features about the great work faculty and students are doing at William & Mary. Kevin worked with technology partner Allied Pixel for the post production of these pieces. Click here to see the videos.  

Oregon State University's Campaign Reaches $1 Billion

We're so pleased to learn that our friends at OSU have achieved such success with their campaign. KWD partnered with OSU for their first-ever comprehensive campaign which was launched in 2007. The campaign surpassed its original goal of $625 million in its first three years and it has now reached $1 billion. KWD worked with OSU on campaign messaging, naming and identity, case statements, and a website.

Here are the comments from President Edward J. Ray regarding our partnership: “From outstanding photographs to powerful words, you and your staff have created an attractive and compelling look, flagship brochure, and website that we are proud to share with our alumni and friends. We consider ourselves well-equipped for the next stage as we continue our drive to bring Oregon State University to a new level of excellence.” Read more about their achievements in the Portland Business Journal article.

Murray State University / Capital Campaign Case Statement

Kelsh Wilson developed the name, graphic identity, and case statement for a $60 million campaign for Murray State University in Murray, KY. Inspired by a line from the school’s alma mater, the campaign name, “Hold Thy Banner High,” resonated strongly with alumni. Because the campaign launched publicly amid recessionary economic news, the messaging focused strongly on support for students—the single largest campaign priority and one donors continue to recognize as vital. 

Malvern Preparatory School / Annual Fund

Malvern Prep, an independent, Catholic boys school in Malvern, PA, invited Kelsh Wilson to create fundraising materials that could help them reinvigorate their annual giving. Kelsh Wilson designed a series of illustrated letters from current donors, each letter representing a different constituent group—alumni, parents, and faculty. The letters featured colorful design, subject specific photos, and compelling editorial by Kelsh Wilson. In their first year in use, the letters assisted Malvern in achieving the most successful annual fund in recent history. 

Rutgers University / University Case Statement

Designed as part of a comprehensive communication strategy for Rutgers University’s $1 billion campaign, Our Rutgers, Our Future, this publication offers clear and concise case for support to donors. The case includes sections explaining what the campaign is about and why donors should invest: a statement of vision, an outline of campaign funding purposes and goals, and a menu of general giving opportunities. It was supported through the compelling stories presented in the campaign Pride Book. 

Rutgers University / Pride Book

During an extensive message research phase for Rutgers University’s $1 billion campaign, Our Rutgers, Our Future, KWD heard numerous alumni express their pride in the institution and also the concern that the University’s accomplishments were not as widely recognized as they should be. This made the goal of engendering pride particularly important for Rutgers and for the campaign. KWD proposed an approach that was somewhat different: collecting that spirit into a single volume, separate from the details of the campaign. Each page or spread in this volume tells a single story and each story is short and simply stated with striking photography.