In March, LMU Magazine was given two awards from SPD (the Society of Publication Designers) in the SPD 55 Design Competition.
Illustrations of nearly a dozen Washington, D.C., political figures by Steve Brodner that accompanied the winter 2020 feature story titled “Dramatis Personae” received the Award of Merit honor. The story, written by Kevin J. Wetmore, professor of theatre in the College of Communication and Fine Arts, compared contemporary political leaders to Shakespearean characters.
The wrap-around cover of the spring 2019 edition of LMU Magazine, “The Los Angeles Issue,” received the Award of Merit for cover design. The cover was the work of illustrator Michael Waraksa, D.J. Stout, partner at Pentagram Design in its Austin, Texas, office, and Pentagram graphic designer Michelle Maudet. The unusual cover highlighted a feature story, by D.J. Waldie, that examined how the names that Los Angeles’ residents have been known by — Angelenos, Angelinos, Angeleños — speaks volumes about our collective identity.
“I’m especially pleased that these works were recognized,” said Joseph Wakelee-Lynch, LMU Magazine editor. “To me, they reflect the magazine’s timeliness, intelligence, visual beauty and sense of humor, as well as its deep roots in the L.A. community.”
The two awards represent the eighth and ninth SPD awards won by LMU Magazine for design, illustration and photography. Other winners in the SPD competition included Bloomberg Businessweek, ESPN The Magazine, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, The Washington Post and WIRED. In all, LMU Magazine has won more than 50 awards in marketplace and higher education competitions since its launch in 2010.