Designing a Magazine for a College of Science

Editorial design and strategy for Virginia Tech’s College of Science Magazine

As the annual update to alumni of the Virginia Tech College of Science, the College of Science magazine performs an important role.

In this particular year, the College also had big news to announce: a new dean, Dr. Sally C. Morton, and her vision for the College — to pursue questions beyond the boundaries of traditional disciplines and established knowledge to promote healthy people, strong communities and a sustainable planet.

Journey Group was invited to redesign the College’s magazine and extend the new Virginia Tech brand in new and inventive ways.

A winning editorial strategy

Drawing from the five elements of Dean Morton’s vision for the College, the Journey Group team proposed five sections of the magazine, each of which would contain a lead story and supporting shorter stories that showed how the College was already living out of this dynamic vision.

Journey Group’s designers and art directors created a cohesive aesthetic throughout the issue, unifying Virginia Tech brand elements with College photography, technical illustration, and innovative layouts.

The new design standard

Working with illustrator Mike McQuade, Journey Group proposed the expansive and eye-catching cover illustration, which also served as a visual anchor throughout the issue.

Each spread differs from the one that preceded it, which creates a pleasing, asymmetric reading experience, drawing the eye to different corners of each page. Maintaining an appropriate degree of negative space and preserving balance were also important to the designers.

The magazine, with its influential use of typography and layout, set a new standard for publishing at Virginia Tech.

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