Alumni Association group wins big


Seeing is believing – and the marketing and communications department of the Alumni Association has a lot to look at lately. The group has been recognized nine times in the last several months for the quality of the marketing materials and publications that they produce.

In May, the department received a Gold Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education for its “Are you Type SAA?” campaign, which introduced incoming freshmen to SAA, the student involvement group run by the Alumni Association.

The Arizona chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design, honored the department this month with four awards as part of its Prisma Awards contest. The department won bronze awards for its innovative membership kit design and for the cover design of the February issue of ASU Magazine, which featured a photo of Arizona Diamondbacks president (and ASU alum) Derrick Hall. The department won a silver award for its cover design of the Summer 2006 issue of ASU Magazine. That issue's cover also received the People's Choice Award from the AIGA, which was determined by a popular vote at the June 2 awards presentation.

Earlier in the spring, Graphic Design USA magazine awarded the department three certificates of excellence as part of its 2007 American Inhouse Design Awards. The association was lauded for a four-postcard series announcing the Homecoming 2006 reunions conducted by the association, as well as a postcard series touting the organization's Sparky's Touchdown Tailgates. The department also received a certificate for its redesign of the Alumni Association's Web site.

Most recently, the department was awarded an honorable mention certificate for its work on ASU Magazine in the educational institution category of the 2007 Communicator Awards, an international competition that recognizes outstanding work in the communications field.

Members of the department who collaborated on the winning entries include: Jeff Holeman, communications and marketing director; Robert Cao-Ba, art and creative director; Karen Windsor-Worrel, senior graphic designer; Adeline Lui, marketing manager; Benita Iafrat, Web master; and Liz Massey, managing editor of ASU Magazine.

“We're glad that others in the industry recognize the effort and quality that have gone into producing our communications,” says Christine Wilkinson, president of the Alumni Association. “We are proud of our team and the level of excellence they've achieved. And, most importantly, judging from the positive responses we've received from alums and the community, we know that these communications are making an impact with their intended audiences, and that is our ultimate goal.”