From the Nominator

“Planned For” and “By Design” are the inaugural prospective student viewbooks for the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Each publication serves as the initial point of contact in print for prospective students, but because the architecture and urban planning programs are so different, it was imperative to create separate viewbooks in order to fully showcase the benefits of attending Taubman College and the University of Michigan in a way that would resonate with each distinct audience.

From the Judges

Taubman’s companion pieces, judged as one viewbook, advertise the school’s graduate-level programs through a fresh, modern approach that still feels creative and artistic. Avoiding the temptation to make its graduate-level viewbook dreary and leaden with prose, Taubman broke the copy in its viewbook into an appropriate mix of short, digestible chunks and longer, more detailed copy. The books are built around an abstract grid structure that relates to place-based thinking—appropriate for urban planning and architecture—and feature profiles of both students and their work. The pieces understand that creativity is at the heart of these graduate programs, and they speak effectively to prospective students who, at their core, are excited about making tangible things come to life.