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7614 Montgomery Avenue
Elkins Park, PA, 19027
United States

2157962955

Kelsh Wilson Design creates message-driven marketing communications, in print and on the web, for education, business, and nonprofits. Admissions / Advancement / Branding / Photography + Video

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Blog

Print & Pixels: Kelsh Wilson Design's blog where we post our latest news and inspiration. Kelsh Wilson Design creates message-driven marketing communications, in print and on the web, for education, business, and nonprofits. Admissions / Advancement / Branding / Photography + Video

 

Talking Strategy

Fred Wilson

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We begin our work with Research and Strategy, bringing your goals and your messages into focus, thinking about the communications challenges we need to meet, weighing the options at hand.

We’ll cover our approach to these tasks in depth in a later post, but for now a few key points: First, we always take time to assimilate any past research or strategic planning you’ve done. Second, we typically conduct focus groups and interviews to learn more about your organization and the audiences you need to reach, customizing the composition of these groups and our line of questions to meet your needs. And third, we think in detail about the way you will use the materials we create—how they will reach your audience and how you want them to work. This is one of the main topics at the in-depth initial meeting that brings together our project team and yours.

The dialog and thought that happen in this early phase of work are essential to the success of everything that follows. This is why we end this phase with a written statement—a Project Brief or a more extensive Report of Findings and Recommendations. This document becomes our guide for the project, and over the months that follow it can be an invaluable reference, helping keep us on course.

Getting Creative

Fred Wilson

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After Research and Strategy building, we move on to developing creative concepts. This is a time for our writers, designers, photographers, and web developers to come together and generate ideas.

How should this piece look and sound? What will give it impact? And what will make it the right instrument to do the job our client needs done?

People sometimes ask how we come up with something fresh every time. The answer is that every project brings together a different combination of creative thinkers with a different school or university facing a different challenge. The uniqueness of the result is almost automatic.

We don’t ask, “What could we do that’s never been done before?” That tends to lead to gimmicky dead ends. We do ask, “What would feel just right for this organization?” Or “How can we take the inspiring glimpse of the place we’ve seen and capture it for the rest of the world?”

The result of this collaboration is a set of choices for you, our customer.We present these in the form of mock-ups showing sample covers and inside pages or home pages and sub pages—complete with photo ideas and sketch headlines. The point is to give everyone a very tangible sense of how the project will really look and work when complete.

We present these ideas to you. We weigh their relative merits. We discuss, debate and listen, and your questions and suggestions lead to refinements and revisions. This can also be a point to share our work in progress with members of our target audience, either in small informal conversations or focus groups.

 

Writing and Shooting

Fred Wilson

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Once we reach agreement with our client about the creative concept for a project, we will often joke, “Now it’s just a matter of tying up loose ends.” Yes, this is a crazy overstatement, but it also holds some truth.

With an approved concept in place, the look, the tone, the content components, and the structure of a project are all decided. The most difficult judgments are behind us. Now, it’s simply time to write the text and shoot the photos and videos that will make the project real. You might even say we’re just filling in blanks. (But don’t say this to our writers.)

A couple of points are worth stressing here. The first is that there is no substitute for careful legwork at this stage: interviewing and background gathering, photo scouting and planning. The quality of the final result depends on attention to detail now. However, all this effort is made far more efficient because we are working to a well-defined plan. For instance, rather than setting our photographers free to rove your campus is search of beauty, we are able to give them ideas for the subject of every image on every page of your book or website. (click here for Kevin's advice on your photo shoot)

Although this description may suggest an almost military level of precision, we’re always on the lookout for the lucky photo we couldn’t have planned or the great story we didn’t know about before. The last ingredient in any great plan is flexibility.

At the end of this phase we are able to present an extremely accurate mock-up of what your finished piece will look—real photos and live text all in place and ready for review.

 

Finishing the Job

Fred Wilson

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The final phase of our projects we call production. The tasks it encompasses range from final proofing, to preparing printer-ready files, to supervising a project on press—something we do every time. In the case of web projects, production includes completing all the coding, populating the site with content, and testing.

In the production phase, our client’s main responsibility is to review work in proof stages. The balance of the labor falls to us. It’s a time to be exacting to the point of obsession, and we are. (click here for Fred's thoughts on print supervision.)

As you’ve probably guessed, the deliverable at the end of this phase is a finished project, ready for you and your audience—whether it’s in the form of 30 cartons fresh from the printer stacked on your loading doc or a new web site, live online.

Now it’s time for you to go recruit students, raise money, or build your organization’s image and for all of us to track, as closely as possible, the impact of our work in helping you do yours. A nice celebration lunch is never a bad idea either!

 

Fred's Thoughts: Why Print Supervision is Important

Fred Wilson

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There is something unique and wonderful about a well-printed publication. To hold and read a piece that has been beautifully designed and been beautifully printed—especially if it has great photos—is to experience a powerful form of communication. And it’s one that still connects with people in this age of social media and multimedia.

When you see great printing, though, it’s easy to forget the work and skill that go into producing it. Technology today may be more powerful than ever, but printing remains as much an art as a science. It takes good judgment and great care.

All of which brings us to the topic of printing supervision, one of the least visible and most important steps in creating any kind of print communication.

The goal of print supervision is to maintain the highest quality throughout the process, from prep to ink on paper. It sounds simple, but things can wrong, even with the best printer. The printing process spans a complex series of steps from the initial handoff of digital files through printing, binding and finally shipping. And—to put it pessimistically—each of these steps presents the chance for a problem.

Yes, pages could get bound in upside-down and require a redo. But much more subtly, the result could fail to capture the look that the designer, photographer and client have worked so hard to achieve. By the time a job reaches the printer, our designers know how everything in it should look. They’ve worked closely with our client, getting input on issues such as accurate color use (perhaps school colors). Similarly, our designers and photographers have worked together to create powerful images. It takes precise directives to the printer to translate these through the four-color offset printing process and get the look we want.

It’s also important to realize that, while modern computer-controlled press can deliver remarkable results, they are not all-powerful. The designer and pressman are often faced with the need to compromise because of limitations inherent in offset printing. The key is to make these compromises wisely, keeping the vision for the finished piece clearly in mind. In reading through what I’ve written so far, I realize I’m probably making our whole staff sound a bit up-tight—obsessed with the finest nuances, worried over every possible sort of lapse. And I’m proud to say, that’s exactly how we are. We love beautiful results. We take the pains required to achieve them.

 

Kevin's Tips for Making your Photo Shoot Click

Fred Wilson

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Taking great photos requires both strong creative vision and solid techincal skill, but it also requires the key to get into the lab wehre you were planning to get your research shot. In other words, by having someone on your team plan ahead and focus on a few details, we can assure better photos and more productivity on the day of the photo shoot.

Hence my thesis: It’s important to get all your ducks in a row.

What sort of ducks are we talking about? Here are a few examples:

• The password to activate a computer screen in a computer shot.
• The apparatus of a science experiment already properly assembled.
• Instructions to students on how to dress. (In a uniform? In a casual shirt? Not in a shirt with another school’s logo on the front
• Some art available in the art studio—works in progress or completed pieces that we can fake working on.
• A pre-scouted dorm room without offensive decorative content.

In short, it pays to think about every practical detail of every shot we need to get.
The most important of these details is probably the people. It helps immeasurably if you and your team are able to identify enthusiastic, expressive, cooperative students and teachers who are not reluctant to be photographed. This may sound silly, but it’s easy to get caught up in selecting people on factors such as balance among your academic departments and end up with someone who really does not want to take part.

Of course, bonus points are awarded for excellent bone structure, good hair, healthy skin, and athletic builds. We are not shooting fashion spreads here (generally). Nonetheless, this is a visual medium, and there’s no shame in putting your best foot (or face) forward.

As far as wardrobe goes, it’s generally a good idea to avoid wearing stripes, plaids, and prints, as well as the aforementioned shirts with logos other than yours. Black or white clothing is not ideal either, as it can lose detail in printing. Whenever possible, choose solid-colored clothing in medium tones (not fluorescent green). The idea here is to keep the focus on the subject or activity, rather than have the eye drawn to a garish color, clashing plaids, or an ad for Abercrombie and Fitch.

If this seems like a lot to remember, don’t worry. In advance of the shoot, we’ll have a call and talk through the details as they pertain to your project. On multiday shoots, we can also use some time up front to scout and plan for what’s to come.

Finally, it’s only fair to mention that we are perfectly comfortable breaking any of these rules, and do so on a regular basis.

 

Cabrini College / Admissions Publications

Fred Wilson

Viewbook

Viewbook

Outcomes Piece

Outcomes Piece

Travel Piece

Travel Piece

Kelsh Wilson Design recently created new Admissions marketing materials for Cabrini College. Because we felt that their core messages were still very valid, we refreshed the content and redesigned the pieces, updating the look and feel. The materials included an admissions viewbook, a travel piece, a campus map and information for visitors, and an outcomes piece featuring alumni success stories. This is the second full set of materials we have designed for Cabrini. 

Murray State University / Capital Campaign Case Statement

Fred Wilson

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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

Fred Wilson

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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

Fred Wilson

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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. 

Moorestown Friends School / Search Piece

Fred Wilson

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This multi-panel printed piece is a companion to a microsite on the MFS homepage, also designed by Kelsh Wilson. MFS faced the challenge of defining the value of an independent school education amidst a field of strong public schools, and a reluctance on the part of parents to learn more about independent schools. KWD commenced the project with focus groups including students and parents to learn about their enrollment experiences. Kelsh Wilson’s solution was to create a marketing piece and microsite that focuses on all the opportunities available to students at MFS that would not be accessible at public schools by speaking to the issues that most concern prospective families. 

Rutgers University / Pride Book

Fred Wilson

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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.