Gene Middleton, our senior creative/print project manager since 2001, is a 29-year veteran of the graphic arts and printing business, the last 15 of which have been spent in educational marketing. He manages the creative and production details of print projects for several of our client schools, has extensive client contact, and is also the manager of our client services and production departments. Gene’s knowledge and creativity are in his blood — his parents ran a community newspaper — plus he’s a kind-hearted man with a delightful sense of humor. We wanted to share some of his knowledge and joyful personality …

Q. What are some typical errors that can happen during the production process?

A. Incorrect info — for example typos on a spec sheet where one little incorrect digit can loom large — say 1,000 vs. 10,000 quantity, or PMS 431 vs. PMS 413 — one is a light gray, the other is a dark gray.

Or errors of various types, such as electronic pre-press glitches, for example copy inadvertently getting deleted from a page or re-flowing to another. Or a technical problem with the printing process — maybe a form of smearing that we call offsetting, or a problem with the binding process — maybe inaccurate folding.

Human errors and machinery malfunctions come with the printing territory, but we like to think we’re good at limiting problems at the Stein end of things. We’re “diligent to the point of paranoia” when it comes to checking proofs and writing print specs and shipping instructions.

Q. Can you give a couple of examples of how Stein’s production process improves the quality of a school’s publications?

A. More than once I’ve looked at a school’s publications (not one of ours!) and thought, “if they’d done a better job with photo editing, their pictures would be less muddy, flat, dark, etc., and the school’s campus and people and facilities would look more appealing and inviting.”

A key area of print production for us is photo editing. We have high standards for print quality of images. We’re fortunate to have talented photo editors on staff, and it’s standard operating procedure for them to color correct all of our images for print. Then the designers or project managers review these edits and sometimes we’ll make further color correction or retouching requests. We try to make our schools look “snappy and happy.”

We’re also sticklers for using PMS colors for key theme colors in a campaign and for large solid ink coverage. We prefer not to “build” these colors out of 4-color process screens. This allows the common colors to be more consistent throughout a piece and from piece to piece. It also allows smoother solid coverages of these colors, and prevents “color compromises” in the 4-color process photos on the piece to allow best possible reproduction of the photos. PMS colors cost a little more but are well worth it.

Q. How do we save money for a school in our printing and prepress areas?

A. We get good buys on paper and we try where possible to increase press layout yields to save paper and press time. Sometimes we print several different items on a press sheet if the deadlines for all the pieces allow it and if the quantities and sizes of the pieces lend themselves to it.

We also try to work wisely in design and production art to be efficient with time and keep costs down. But we don’t rush through projects. That’s a good way to make mistakes that we’ll have to go back and fix. Or much worse, it could cause an expensive printing error on our part.

Q. What are some client benefits you especially like that are a result of the Stein creative process?

A. Something I especially like about the way we serve our clients is our commitment to getting specific measurable results for them based on good research and info gathering. I also like our nice knack for creating publications and messaging that attract the kinds of students our schools are looking for. We always love it when we hear apps and accepts are up over the previous year or years a few months after we’ve launched a new campaign.

Q. You are one of the funniest guys I know. Do you use that gift in your work?

A. Levity can be the lubricant for creativity — within reason of course. Sometimes there’s a fine line between constructive and disruptive humor in creative meetings! But a light heart and a light touch really can help people lighten up, and that can help jump-start the idea flow.

Humor can also help us all endure stress and frustration when things get hectic and tense . . . say for example, during the entire month of August!

Q. What do you do better now than you did 10 years ago?

A. I have more experience and because of that I think I have better intuition about how things can go haywire if they get off to the wrong start. I’d like to think over time I’ve gotten better and better at preventing potential problems in quality or schedules. I don’t know if practice makes perfect, but if we’re paying attention it sure does make us get better!

I think most of us are pleased that 2008 is over and the New Year has begun.

Sue Hunter, a freelance member of the Stein creative team and great friend, penned an original haiku that deserves passing along to you as she did for me. It suggests an attitude that is healthy and perhaps puts things in perspective.

Stein is entering its 44^thyear of serving educational institutions. This past year was generally very good for us. We gained a number of new clients, developed new campaigns for several existing clients, added two new consultants to our staff and won our share of awards and accolades. And, we were continually reminded that change is inevitable — in life and in business.

Thus, I am sorry to announce that Jenny Brower, Vice President of Sales and Client Services, has resigned to pursue a new opportunity that was too good for her to pass up. As much as we’ll miss her, we wish Jenny only success and happiness. (Unfortunately, this means that I’m going to have to go back to working a little harder until we find her replacement.)

Heading into the new year, I want to assure you that Stein is strong. We are focused. We are resilient. And we are dedicated to continue creating some of the finest and most effective work in the marketplace. And always with laughter and grateful hearts.

Best wishes for 2009!

Opps, I forgot to mention that Patt Farrell, also a great friend and freelance resource, illustrated Sue’s haiku.

While much of a designer’s work is abstract, emotional, and gut-level, our designers value research, collaboration, and feedback, considering it all part of the creative process. This ability to learn from the client and the target audience and to incorporate the findings into a final design is particularly true of Stein Art Director Bo Uzzle. Bo has been designing for the education market for years, and he makes an excellent case for design to flow logically and responsibly from research. We coerced him into sitting down for a short interview …

Q. If a school has conducted a lot of market research, can you use it?

A. Of course. I don’t think a responsible designer has the option to ignore research. I don’t hear the name of a university and think colors. That’s not the way it works for me.

We do a lot of research, looking at the target students’ aspirations and an institution’s aspirations and at how these interface — where they meet. That’s important: to look at where a school wants to be, not just at where it is.

In focus groups, we try to get the flavor of a school. We look at the play between being liberal arts versus a comprehensive university. Is the school carried by a few programs? What associations do people off campus have with the school? What draws individual kids to a school? How many are full-pay or first-generation? Who is the decision maker in the prospective student families — the student or the parent?

There are commonalities for every institution. For instance, people want to see the campus, to see where they are going to live for the next four years. We are selling lifestyle as much as academic distinctives.

If a college has lots of first-generation students and it seems that they are drawn to the idea of “college,” then I’ll consider using design elements that are iconic of college.

Are the majority of the prospective students “careerists” or people who want to learn how to learn? If they are mostly careerists, you don’t want to frustrate that desire with a lot of abstract language.

Some institutions attract kids who are readers, and that makes you want to give them opportunities for moments of discovery. I love being able to plant Easter eggs for curious people. This requires working closely with a writer. The content has to be structured in a way so that when a reader digs deeper, they are rewarded for their effort. I also love the boldness of the direct, benefits-oriented appeal to careerists.

Designers have to read the content in order to be successful. I think they have to like to read, in order to keep from frustrating readers. A rudimentary understanding of writing is necessary for functional layout.

Q. Can you describe the “design process” a little more?

A. The writer and I work together, doing the research and talking in broad strokes about what makes this school different. What motivates the students there?

For Woodberry Forest, we developed the themes of brotherhood and standing together in an extensive branding document. We thought that talking about brotherhood was best done as a long, direct speech with a rhythm to it — almost sermonizing.

Then we needed to figure out the viewbook sections. How do you back up that appeal? Your typical sections are academics, athletics, outcomes, etc., but for this brotherhood theme, you want something more conceptual: What it means to be a Woodberry man, to join this line, this history.

Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with the typical sections. Most kids won’t read a viewbook linearly. They’ll thumb through it from back to front. They want to see that list of majors. You’ve got to give them that payoff. But I like to put it at the end because the center spread is one of your best chances to create a lasting dominant impression with a reader. It should connect emotionally. My least favorite viewbooks are ones that are collections of lists.

Once we have the outline, we decide where we want to create interest with details and where we want to be broad, to hit people over the head. Is there a structural logic we want to impose? That starts to flesh out the outline.

The writer writes the broader strokes — what each page will be about. Together we decide — do I need to detail it — is there a story that needs to be told? Or do I need to scream it? We work from broad to the minute and then back up again.

Q. You direct the photo shoots for your projects. What makes a good photographer?

A. We are looking less and less for the photographers who can make the perfect studio shot. We look for people who can give energy, believability.

Kids are incredibly cynical nowadays. They react negatively to anything they don’t believe is sincere.

The good photographers make people feel comfortable, either not aware the camera is there or looking at the camera like you are one of their friends, like you’ve just walked up and joined the conversation. Two camera-aware shots can be technically the same but have a totally different feeling. I do try to limit the number of camera-aware shots. They are so tricky. If you don’t get it right, kids will crucify you for it.

There are other considerations. Many images in a piece will be small images. You want them to give a graphic idea, not details. Let large images celebrate the details.

We’ve all seen viewbooks with the cliched cover shot of a student sitting alone under a tree reading a book. We’re often tempted to think the contemplative life — the life of scholarly reflection — is the ideal collegiate experience. But that’s not necessarily going to connect with a 17-year-old. Social networking has changed the ideal. Kids nowadays don’t want to be alone. You have to show students interacting in groups.

Deserted beauty shots of facilities are a no-no. True, they’re easier to get than shots of kids interacting in the same setting, but you have to understand that the shot of the facility relates a feature, and the interaction shot portrays a benefit. And that’s a powerful difference.

We need to be aware of the stories we’re telling with our images. The story that an image tells to someone not familiar with the school is frequently completely different from the story it tells to us and the school administrators.

…

Every school has a different story to tell. Often for my job, the starting point is finding a reason to fall in love with the school. If I can convey that reason to someone else, then I deserve my paycheck.

We welcome our new projects
We are pleased to announce the following new clients:

Lewis University web site (IL)
Woodward Academy annual fund (GA)

Recently printed
We’re proud of the publications coming off the presses. Take a look at a few standouts.

Seeking qualified candidates for sales position
Stein is seeking qualified candidates for a sales/consulting position. If you are interested in learning more about the position, please contact Jenny Brower at 404.494.4393 or jbrower@steincommunications.com.

Annual food drive kick-off
Our recycling efforts have gone extremely well this year, thanks to Bonnie McQuagge, Kathryn Spruill, and Melanie Malnati, our Green Initiatives co-chairs. We’ll continue to strive for social consciousness with our Annual Food Drive, kicking off today. When our offices were in Midtown, some of our donations were shared with the homeless who slept on our doorstep. This year the recipients won’t be quite so nearby.

Comments or suggestions?
We would love to hear from you: If you have a news story you’d like to share with other education professionals or ideas for our blog, contact Jenny Brower at 404.494.4393, or Sherry Wade at 404.494.4421 or swade@steincommunications.com.

Our dear friend and colleague, Ross Lenhart, recently shared some of his thoughts and reflections on attending NACAC throughout his (to date) 42 year career in the NACAC conference blog. If you have a few moments, it’s definitely worth the read. The vignettes he shares really capture why we all do what we do and what makes it so special. With 42 years of stories to share, I’m certain he could fill up a book. Maybe that’s next on his “to do” list after he enjoys having a bit more free time!

This time of year is like an early Christmas at Stein. Client projects are finishing up for fall delivery, and almost daily we get in samples of completed publications. Here are some recent printed pieces that are standouts.

Wesley College

Welsey College was looking for a complete redesign of its admissions campaign with a goal of shifting perception from a regional college to that of an academically innovative institution.

We took a no-nonsense tone with the copy and created a sophisticated design to appeal to students’ pragmatism and high expectations. One cool aspect of the concept is that it uses atypical sizes. The viewbook is about 6 x 9 inches and the visit piece is conveniently back-pocket-sized.

Bo Uzzle, design; Taylor Trussell, writing; Kathryn Spruill, account.

Wesley viewbook and visit piece

Woodberry Forest

The Woodberry Forest project involved extensive brand research and interviews. From our research we developed a brand narrative and key messages, the first expression of which is a new viewbook that captures Woodberry’s strong sense of brotherhood and academic rigor.

Bo Uzzle, design; Taylor Trussell, brand research and writing; Jennifer Bagley, account.

Woodberry viewbook spread

Arizona State University

ASU is being guided by a clear vision focused on the concept of the new American university. Our goal was to present this bold vision but without hyperbole, which could diminish its validity. Our concept for the resulting publications was storytelling with a purpose, defining the vision in the context of real people doing real things to make a real difference in the world.

Bonnie McQuagge, design; David Harrell, writing; Jay Williams, account.

ASU prospectus spread