The White Mountain School

Bethlehem, NH USA
Grades 9-12/PG, Coed Boarding and Day 

SAMPLE JUDGES' COMMENTS
A really cool and different cover stood out in the crowd. Other design elements - including photos and artwork - made this a beautiful and well-designed piece. This magazine also carried a theme through the feature more than almost all of the others - this made it more readable. It didn't feel like I was skipping from one unrelated topic to another.

This was the surprise pick for me. Very clean piece with interesting stories woven through. I enjoyed the sense of place that comes from the alumni profiles, but The Lower School reflections and Quarantine self photos were a nice touch in approaching distance learning. I knew nothing about this school until reading the piece and it was the one school that, after the scoring/judging, I looked up online out of pure curiosity.

Gorgeous design, clever content. Especially impressive for a small school

Love the graphic cover and layout of the table of contents and sections — very eye-catching with lots of white space and original! I like the "state of the state" from admissions following the introduction of the new head — great strategy to accentuate the strength of the school. Love the use of color, illustration, and terrific photography in the spaces piece and how its focus is not just on the space, but on the student creativity and ingenuity they inspire. Great idea taking what could have been a construction story about the new dorm and turning it into a profile piece about the CFO!

TEAM
Luis Ruuska, Communications and Marketing Manager
Allison Letourneau, Associate Head of School for Enrollment Management
Scott Hunt, Director of Development & Alumnae/i
John Drew, Head of School
Lisa Leidy, Agency Principal, Square Spot Design
Kallie Hadley, Agency Principal, Square Spot Design

Millbrook School

Millbrook, NY USA
Grades 9 -12, Coed Boarding

SAMPLE JUDGES' COMMENTS
A strong overall piece with solid brand content combined with great photography. The part that stands out to me is how they showcased the spectacular arts program through the lives of people in their community. The stories of the people involved are so much more compelling than the usual list of bells and whistles of a department or facility. You feel the impact of the culture and artistic creativity that indeed gives the reader a sense that this is a program unlike any other. Very well done.

TEAM
Michelle Blayney, Editor
Michael Glica, Designer

La Jolla Country Day School

La Jolla, CA USA
Grades PS-12, Coed Day

SAMPLE JUDGES' COMMENTS
The bandwidth of this school is what strikes me about this piece. From Abstract art to TedTalks, to MLB, to Cybersecurity, to Broadway; the scope of these stories is impressive, but I love the way they spell out the LJCDS influences within the copy. Cover art seals it.

Absolutely gorgeous design and photography. A rich variety of content. Not flashy but very impressive.

TEAM
Tiffany Truong, Director of Marketing and Communications
Verso Design, Art Direction + Graphic Design
Rachel Baxter, Digital Media and Design Coordinator
Jennifer Fogarty, Communications Content Manager