A Magazine Beyond Print

An alumni magazine today is more than just a print publication; it’s a dynamic brand engaging a diverse readership across digital, social, and print platforms. The UMass Magazine team understood this approach, having already implemented a multichannel storytelling strategy with a dedicated website and social media presence that complemented their bi-annual print magazine. This understanding, along with a Magazine Action Plan developed with Capstone Communications and an Editorial Plan created by the team, laid a strong foundation for their collaboration with us. Our primary goals were to elevate the reader experience through a unified design and establish a sustainable publication system for the future.

UMass Magazine, like many alumni publications, has a rich history marked by various names (Contact, Massachusetts Magazine, UMass Amherst, and UMass) and logos. The most recent logo prominently featured the letter U. With the launch of a new University identity in 2023, it was time for the magazine to lock into a strong brand identity of its own. The key challenge was determining the degree of alignment with the new University branding.

Our initial exploration led to two distinct design directions: “M” and “Valley.” Both incorporated the University’s identity guidelines through typography and color. “Brand” leaned heavily into the new School identity, featuring a stylized “M” and utilizing the palette’s sans-serif font. “Valley,” on the other hand, aimed to capture the unique experience of being at UMass—an R1 research university nestled in the Pioneer Valley.

UMass stakeholders acknowledged the merits of both directions but ultimately emphasized the importance of the magazine having its own sub-brand, while still clearly relating to the UMass identity. This led to the final direction, “Spirit,” which seamlessly blended elements from both concepts. The new logo system, for instance, thoughtfully prioritizes the word “magazine” and includes a stacked version for print, an online version for digital platforms, and a more casual “UMass Mag” for social media, ensuring consistent brand recognition across all channels.

UMass Magazine was ahead of its peers, already featuring a stand-alone website and QR codes in print that linked to enhanced online content. While effective, an overuse of these elements can detract from the print experience. We recommended a more strategic approach: using prompts sparingly and leveraging their existing content strategy (e-newsletters and social media) to drive traffic to the digital platform. The UMass team created “Raw Materials,” offering a behind-the-scenes look at print stories, and “Hidden Gems,” which features some content in print and additional stories exclusively online. This strategy not only enriches the print experience but also fosters community by involving readers in the magazine’s creation.

Despite reaching approximately 300,000 readers digitally, the bi-annual print magazine is received by over 200,000 individuals. The revised editorial plan maximizes the 64-page format, incorporating visual pauses that enhance the magazine’s flow and celebrate the unique qualities of print— large, striking imagery on a tactile surface. Features are thoughtfully bookended by “Around the Pond,” a vibrant section of short and medium-length articles with accompanying full-page or spread visuals that transport readers back to campus, and “Decades,” a robust back-of-book section dedicated to alumni stories and class notes. Interactive departments like “Readers Write” and “As I Recall” encourage reader input, fostering a more conversational and community-focused magazine.

The UMass team recognizes that a magazine transcends its printed form. Through this redesign, which builds upon their existing content strategy and establishes the magazine as a distinct sub-brand, they are positioned to meet both institutional and reader expectations, transforming alums into engaged alums and expanding their overall audience.