CC Magazine wins three CASE awards
CC Magazine, Connecticut College’s flagship publication, has won three 2018 Circle of Excellence awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
This international awards program honors outstanding work in advancement services, alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing at colleges, universities, independent schools and affiliated nonprofits.
Two CC Magazine covers were honored with design awards. “Birth of the Cool,” the cover of the Summer 2017 issue, earned the gold award, while “The Dance,” the Winter 2017 cover, was honored with a silver award.
For its Fall 2016 redesign, CC Magazine was awarded silver in the Magazine Publishing Improvement category.
“This is a significant accomplishment, and I’m proud of the work done by our editor, our designers, our writers, our photographers and so many others to tell the story of this great institution through its alumni, faculty, students, staff and parents,” said Vice President for Communications Pamela Dumas Serfes.
“It’s an honor to receive national recognition for this important publication.”
CC Magazine covers a diverse range of stories which profile the human condition as seen through the members of the College community. It reports on the intellectual, cultural and social life on campus, as well as the impact of alumni in business, politics, art, education and social justice around the world.
“CC Magazine stays relevant by covering content about the contemporary issues facing our society. It provokes, challenges, and, at times, makes our readers laugh. It triggers conversation and fosters debate,” said CC Magazine Editor and Director of Content Edward Weinman. “Our goal is to create an object our readers enjoy spending time with.”
The 2016 redesign was undertaken to create a more modern and contemporary magazine that would better compete with the other media alumni and other readers consume. An expanded grid creates more white space, different fonts make the magazine more readable, and a larger trim size allows for more compelling and provocative photographs.
“With this redesign, we really wanted to create a great magazine, not just a great alumni magazine—a publication that would stand out from other alumni magazines, and not look out of place on a news stand,” said Art Director Ben Parent.
In their report, the CASE judges said the layout and design changes make the already impressive content even more inviting and intriguing.
“[The] new focus on beautiful artsy covers isn’t just a ruse to get you into the magazine; page after page, you’re hooked,” they wrote.
The Summer 2017 cover, “Birth of the Cool,” features a painting of a man in a pink suit on a pink background by the late artist and emeritus professor Barkley L. Hendricks, who passed away during the production of the issue. Affectionally known as “the pink cover,” it is a fitting tribute to Hendricks, whose work gave voice to black Americans and black American culture. The cover was also recognized in the fall issue of Pages Magazine as the “Cool Cover”.
“The Dance” features a striking photograph of a visiting artist, dancer Ya’ara Moses, taken by photographer Lois Greenfield, who is well known for her unique approach to photographing the human form in motion.
