Designing a viewbook for a university of this size is no easy task. Attempting to tell a story that encompasses all that happens on a 5,300-acre campus is daunting — where do you begin? I remember the advice my boss gave me shortly after I accepted my job, "This place is so big that you'll never be able to wrap your arms around it, so don't start out by thinking you have to." It was advice being given to a new employee on her first day but it certainly applied to the task at hand, too.

I spent a significant amount of time looking through other viewbooks and taking note of patterns I saw in the messaging, the organization, the images. I talked extensively with the Admissions Marketing team and my writer, and I asked a million questions. Everything I saw and every question I asked was filed away while the thoughts continued to stir.

What finally emerged was a celebration of this moment in a prospective student's journey. A celebration of possibility. A celebration of what we could do together. 

This quote was brought to us by the Admissions team and it really embodied this space we were inviting prospective students to explore with us. We wanted them to see the potential we saw in them to do what Spartans will.

This spread was so simple but so strong. I knew it would all hinge on the image, so I was incredibly particular while we were out shooting and even more so when I got into design.  

The photographer with us on the shoot that day brought back some beautiful shots. He followed instructions to the letter, and snagged additional images as we went in case we needed to shift gears on the plan for the layout. Several came close to the emotion I was attempting to convey but they felt too...stiff. Too posed. 

I panicked, but then I remembered I had my own camera with me that day... 

This shot — the softer face turned more toward the camera and relaxed shoulders coupled with the still determined, slightly upward gaze — was nestled in the middle of the 70-count stack and worth the dig (sorry Greg).

I really loved the spread above. Continuing on this journey with our prospective student, we wanted to find a way to ask them what it was they wanted to will into being, but we also needed to illustrate some of the things Spartans are already working on to offer insight into the wonderful work in progress. This spread was a fusion of the two.

The messaging throughout the viewbook was intended to feel personal. We wanted students to know that while this is their adventure, we're here to partner with them as they explore and grow. This also included being there for them outside of the classroom.

Our campus is many things but boring isn't one of them. The spread, below, inspired other projects based on what is now internally referred to as the Spartan Bucket List. I have yet to meet a Spartan who has checked every box but I hope to.

I'm convinced there would never be enough pages to cover everything that should have gone into the two spreads about campus life and living in Michigan, but we did our best with the real estate we had. While the images from campus were curated from our photo library, the Michigan spread relied on campus and alumni contributors to tell the story of our home state. 

Of course, the purpose of the viewbook is to get students to apply, but we also wanted to get them to visit and see this place for themselves. We used images shared with us from other campus visits to offer some insight into what to expect.

We had to shoot this closing spread in winter. Our poor students were so cold that their cheeks and noses were all pink but they were fantastic. Unfortunately, the weather was not. We had one moment where the sun popped out, low on the horizon, and then it was gone. Thankfully, I dabble in Photoshop magic and was able to bring some warmth back into the shot for the final spread. The original image is on the left, below. My composited image is on the right. 

Selecting a single image to represent all of campus was impossible, so we wrapped the cover in brand. The design extends to the back cover to show off the full Spartan helmet and the aqueous soft touch coating lends a tactile element to it when picked up.

2018 Silver Addy