Who should use Creative Services?
All those on campus who produce publications. Every group within the university has
access to our award winning creative team.
Why?
We can help you.
While each department and program at Western Carolina University is distinctive, each
is also part of the whole University. Many readers who start with one publication
from WCU also receive, or seek out, other publications from the university.
If each program produces a publication with its own look and stylistic conventions—with
no similarities to other campus publications—then it becomes harder for readers to
associate the program with WCU. That association is important because the university
as a whole benefits from the success of each of its parts. When any one program makes
a positive impression on the public, WCU’s reputation is strengthened. As the university’s
reputation gets stronger, as it has in recent years, every program benefits in turn.
Using Creative Services for the preparation of your publications will improve the
effectiveness of each piece and is required by university policy - particularly “all
university publications intended for off-campus audiences or wide distribution on
campus” (Executive Memorandum policy 16, University Publications).
How
One important way is to use a couple consistent visual elements in each publication
(logo and type font). You can do that and still have room to design distinctive publications
that communicate your program’s individual character with the use of photography specific
to the program.
Another way is to use consistent conventions for the ways all university publications
present common names, places, and concepts (e.g., accurate proper names, abbreviations,
capitalization).
And, of course, you want to incorporate the principles of good writing: clarity, precision,
consistency, economy, and correctness.
Creative Services