"The "Full Circle" story, published in our all-alumni issue, shared the emotional, and sometimes comical reunions of alumni who are reunited with lost—and found—class rings. An illustration was created for the cover that spoke to the journey the alumni and their rings took. A class ring is shown at an angle. The gemstone that usually sits in the middle is replaced with a circular maze. The ring portion of the illustration uses one color and selective color is used for the maze to bring more attention to the visual metaphor.
In developing cover options, we realized that using a photo of a class ring read too much like an advertisement and lacked the mystery that was at the heart of the story. We chose a loose, imperfect style to illustrate the ring and maze to evoke the quirky, roundabout, imperfect ways the rings found their way back to the owner. A flat, neutral color was used for the background to balance the hand-drawn look of the ring and maze. It allows the image to pair perfectly with the cover headline and subhead. This issue of the magazine was mailed to more than 200,000 alumni."
From the Judges
Nice, minimalist cover. The idea of using illustration instead of a photo and replacing the ring's stone with a maze was a clever choice.
