University of Wisconsin—Madison

Letters & Science
Magazine

Selection of covers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison Letters & Science magazine

The Challenge

The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s College of Letters & Science wanted to turn its annual report into a twice-a-year magazine. As the university’s largest and most academically diverse college, it had no shortage of stories to tell. The challenge was finding a way to bring those stories together in a publication that reflected the breadth of the liberal arts and gave readers a reason to look forward to the next issue.

Letters & Science publication before the redesign

The Solution

We worked with the college’s communications team to rethink the publication, starting with its editorial strategy and structure. We recommended Letters & Science as the title rather than their abbreviated L&S, then played off that pairing in department names like Here & Now, Asked & Answered, and Explore & Discover. That created a magazine with a consistent identity and a familiar rhythm, but enough flexibility to accommodate just about anything the college might want to talk about.

Here & Now department pages from Letters & Science magazine
Explore & Discover department spreads from Letters & Science magazine
News & Notes department pages from Letters & Science magazine
Life & Work department pages from Letters & Science magazine
Sift & Winnow opinion section from Letters & Science magazine

For feature stories, I designed and directed work that let the subject matter lead the way. Expressive art direction and typography gave each story its own voice, sometimes taking the magazine places we didn’t anticipate. That freedom kept things interesting from page to page and issue to issue. Readers could recognize Letters & Science without necessarily knowing what they’d find inside.

A few years in, we added a digital companion to the print magazine. It gave readers another way to discover and share stories, while creating a growing archive of the college’s work.

Letters & Science digital magazine website

The Impact

Eight years and counting, Letters & Science remains an ongoing collaboration. I’ve helped guide the magazine through changes in editorial leadership and multiple deans, maintaining a consistent creative direction while making room for new ideas and approaches. What began as a redesign of an annual report has become a publication with an identity of its own, one that reflects the breadth of the college and continues to evolve alongside it.

My Role

  • Discovery and Research
  • Editorial Strategy
  • Creative Direction and Design
  • Digital Strategy and UX
  • Client Relationships
  • Project Management

Created at Landesberg Design

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