From the Nominator

With print costs rising, the University of Texas at San Antonio took a hard look at our magazine strategy and decided to revamp the Sombrilla Magazine digital edition. With 7,000 new alumni graduating each year, there was an urgent need to seize the digital opportunity to engage young alumni. We designed and launched Sombrilla Magazine Online--a site that goes far beyond a direct digital translation of the print edition. With no budget for creating content, we established collaborations across the university to infuse the site with fresh multimedia elements to bring stories to life. Elements such as video and podcast features give the readers new ways to engage in the university. As a leading institution in the local economy, it is important to engage the broader San Antonio community, so we published stories, video interviews, and photo galleries that speak to the Hispanic/Latinx cultural ties that run so deep in our city. This cultural thread is woven throughout the site in seamless ways that demonstrate our commitment to place and our trajectory as a rising Hispanic-serving institution. When the site was launched in March 2023, our online readership immediately rose by 330%. Most importantly, our university colleges, alumni association, and community relations teams gained a new way to engage donors, policymakers, community leaders, research partners, and other stakeholders. The content is amplified through multiple university social media channels and newsletters that enable us to tell our stories to audiences far beyond our magazine’s traditional reach.

From the Judges

We selected Sombrilla Magazine, published by The University of Texas at San Antonio, for its clean and effective design, great use of space, user experience, and writing, all achieved on a small budget. The digital magazine's appealing layout, stunning photography, and inclusion of class notes and alumni photos online further distinguished it from other publications.