Mount Mercy University

Storytelling: Made by Mercy

Mount Mercy University welcomes people of all beliefs to join its community in pursuit of higher education and compassionate service to those in need. Its flagship magazine is the institution’s primary communication tool, intended mainly for alumni and friends but also for current and prospective students as well. When Mount Mercy wanted their magazine to better reflect the university and its mission, they asked Creative Mellen for design and editorial assistance to reinvent the publication.

Reinventing a university magazine

PROJECT DETAILS
Strategy
Story Concepting
Interviews & Writing
Magazine Design
Website Design
Photo Art Direction

To reinvent Mount Mercy’s magazine, we instituted a guiding philosophy to produce a publication that would reflect the school’s intellectual, cultural, and social life, as well as address the Sisters of Mercy’s critical concerns. Main goals that led to the “Made by Mercy” message included building pride, addressing timely and important issues, demonstrating the school’s enduring value; and persuading readers to become active supporters.

We focused on the target audience using data-driven evidence. We created anchor pages revolving around topics that would be featured in each issue and developed a flat plan of pages and stories that gave the team direction. We designed the publication to be slightly oversized (at 9 x 11.5 inches) to stand out in the mail. An uncoated stock better aligned the magazine with the school’s merciful mission. The design incorporated a layout that could be dynamic with submitted as well as professional photography.

To reach wider audiences, we determined an online template and structure that could provide video, photo galleries, and extra content, which was shared via social media to further increase visibility.