Engaging Alumni through Hard-Copy Magazines

by Amanda Kohn on Apr 17, 2018

Infographics convey a large amount of data and provide overviews for university programs, initiatives and achievements. When readers scan a magazine, these visual aids can make a page stand out by incorporating school colors, logos or other recognizable features.

In our recent Bringing Magazine Content to Life: A New Era of Alumni Magazines – Volume 2 report, Corporate Insight reviews print magazines from nine colleges and universities of various sizes and presents best practices for hard-copy alumni publications in the digital age. In this report, four universities—Dartmouth, James Madison, New York University and Villanova—incorporate infographics as sponsored advertisements or dedicated sections within the magazine. Topics include alumni demographics, global day of service results and campaign updates.

We spotlight NYU as a leader in the report for diversifying its text content with infographics. The university’s Global Day of Service infographic presents a progress report from its philanthropic events around the world. A full-page section within the magazine details highlights from the day, including projected economic impact, number of volunteers and service hours completed. The graphic also lists 12 specific projects, showcasing the volunteers and hours served for each site. The infographic follows several of our identified best practices. The map backdrop, enlarged numerals and eye-catching icons all serve to capture the reader’s attention and provide at-a-glance info in a digestible format.