Since the very beginning, I've been involved with print.
And because MICA is a college of art and design, it prides itself on producing print pieces of the highest quality. The pieces whose creation I've been a part of are beautiful — and even better, I had fun working on them. Following are a few of the larger projects I've worked on at MICA.
The MICA Undergraduate Viewbook and Artist's Guide for Finding a College
During the last project cycle, the Admission and Strategic Communications offices took a different approach to these core publications — both visually and thematically — than we had in years past. We teamed with the design firm karlssonwillker, who proposed a visual style driven by renderings made from data obtained by sensor stations placed around campus. The Artist Guide covers were guided by the renderings, and the cover of each viewbook was unique, pulled from one of 68,000 composite renderings that captured a single moment in time at MICA. The intent was to capture the heartbeat of our community.
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A similar same tactic was used to develop copy. While the interior content could not be one-of-a-kind, I decided that the words and experiences of students and alumni would drove the narrative. I wanted to capture what truly makes the MICA community special to those who are a part of it.
I led content creation throughout the process, managing a team of freelance writers. I identified a large pool of students and alumni to interview, developed core questions, and combed through 60 interview transcripts to pinpoint common themes. I then worked closely with the Vice President of Admission to develop core messages, wrote copy for key sections, tasked contract writers with assignments based on their strengths and experience with subject matter, and copyediting submitted work to ensure consistency in tone.
One of the best parts of this project was being able to collect the experiences of so many students and alumni. Their insight is still driving much of the work our office produces today.
Creatives At Work
Creatives At Work grew from Career Tracks, a longtime publication that was part of Admission's annual yield cycle. The series of brochures highlighted career success of alumni in fine arts, design, media arts, and art education fields.
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During a rebranding project impacting publications across the college, the redesign of Career Tracks came to included a new approach to its content. As it was text heavy and lacking visuals before, I suggested shortening the copy to narrow focus on a fewer number of carefully curated alumni stories — which allowed for a more visually interesting design. l also suggested renaming the suite of brochures to Creatives At Work, and including an online version found at mica.edu/atwork that could be constantly refreshed as alumni stories were added to the MICA website.
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I continue to manage content development for this project, researching alumni to include during the annual update cycle. This includes the addition of a STEM-focused piece to the publications.
