Nothing brings a community together like a well-thought-out and timely publication. While the format and design have changed many times over the last century, The Bulletin is still bringing the Caltech Women’s Club together.
We were excited to have the opportunity to rebrand this publication and bring it into the future with an updated layout, vibrant imaging, and a focus on engaging, member-focused content.
Our first step was to consider the needs of the community to be sure they were still the focus of the publication and that the member’s expectations for the publication were met during the transition. After determining the expected content, we were able to consider the readership as a whole in order to find ways to expand the content to include more magazine-styled material. We set up a content schedule that would include both types of content and provide a rich, dynamic reading experience and planned to design the publication around a organizing theme for each issue.
Then we considered the imaging style for the publication. While previous versions of the The Bulletin focused on the community and it’s events, in order to provide a more diverse and engaging visual experience, we set out to include vivid images throughout the publication.
The updated version of The Bulletin has met with rave reviews so far, and we are excited about how we were able to create a refreshed version of a publication with such a rich and storied history as it moves into the next century.
Our focus was on coordinating the images with each volumes’ theme while maintaining an overall vibrant, cheerful vibe. Images were selected based on their appeal to a predominately female audience that ranges from 35-75. This range in readership age presented some challenges that we decided to address by incorporating beautiful imagery designed to tie the content together, provide continuity, and appeal to the diverse age range.
Finally we revamped the layout and rebranded the masthead. The organization has had an ambivalent relationship with their logo over the last several years, so in order to honor the history and visually tie the publication to the group, we incorporated a riff on the logo. We created the same form in a palette of updated monochromatic tones that can be shifted to coordinate with each volume of the Bulletin. This will allow for easy recognition with the community while providing a modern version of the logo and continuity within each volume.
We also created a magazine layout to bring the publication up-to-date. We designed a more visually pleasing and easier to read print and e-magazine with two-column text, inset images, callouts, and stylized fonts and headers from the ground up while still trying to preserve the original intent and vision of the previous publication.
