Design with Vision

One of the most important admissions marketing pieces for a private school is their viewbook. The viewbook is intended to reach both prospective students and their parents, and is the perfect chance to communicate the benefits and accomplishments of a school, as well as display the school’s unique personality. Schools can go into detail about their academics, athletics, extra-curricular programs, and in the case of schools with religious affiliations, their emphasis on spirituality. This year, prestigious St. Louis private school Visitation Academy came to us expressing a desire for a redesigned viewbook. The viewbook they were using at the time was had served its purpose and was in need of a significant revision. They wanted a piece that was “uniquely Viz,”, a request that took on new meaning as we embarked on the project. “It started with initial discussion, just what it meant to go to Visitation Academy, not just for the students, but for the parents and faculty as well,” said Paradigm Art Director, Ryan Capogreco. “Through discussion, we strived to get an acute feel of the culture at Viz. We understood that the institution had three different schools each targeting slightly varied audiences. Knowing that, we first tried to capture the essence or mood of each school using a design mood board. This gave us a great jumping-off point, and really kept Visitation Academy involved early in the design process as well.” In addition to an intense design focus and a number of in-school photo shoots, writing for the Visitation Academy viewbook was a critical process as well. In many cases, the viewbook is a first touch-point for prospective students and their families, so we knew that it was imperative that we capture the spirit of Viz in each word. “Once we honed in on that voice, the rest of the piece kind of flowed out from that voice.” said writer Paul Heitman. “Viz is so unique, and the people there know themselves so well, all we had to do was listen.” The deliverables included three books (one for each school) and poster all presented in a beautifully elegant, branded box. In the end, we were able to give Visitation Academy a viewbook package that was indeed “uniquely Viz.” The books are custom-designed from cover-to-cover, and vibrates with the spirit of the academy in every line. Jenny Lucas, Director of Advancement at Visitation Academy offered her praise for the project in sharing, “Paradigm was a pleasure to work with during the viewbook redevelopment project. It was a long, tough project but we were all able to work together collaboratively, maintain persistence, and in the end we were left with a wonderful piece that beautifully represented our school.” Take a look at the Viz Viewbook, and tell us what you think!