From the Nominator

Last year, the alumni marketing and communications team launched a redesign of the Harvard Business School Alumni Bulletin. The project was necessitated by new branding from the school, but the magazine also needed both an aesthetic and strategic update. The magazine was celebrating its 100th anniversary and had a solid, established brand, but we saw opportunity to advance awareness and interest among younger alumni. The redesign led to a fundamental change in the magazine, pivoting from a traditional alumni magazine to more of a community magazine, with a focus on students and faculty as protagonists. It also was renamed—HBS Magazine—to send a strong signal about the change in direction. The new publication has two main sections, NOW and NEXT, each with its own focus; the section in between is a photo essay called Scene. “Back at the Ranch,” from December 2024, was our inaugural Scene. With this photojournalism style, we wanted to give readers a visual break between the two departments, and a deliberate change of pace. “Back at the Ranch” is an 800-word story that unfolds over 10 pages. The strategy for this department originated from early work we did in planning for the redesign, where we identified the criteria that would drive our choices. One of those criteria, “lean into the coffee table,” reflects the fact that alumni are proud to put the magazine on view at home or at the office. With Scene, we’re embracing that and trying to earn a place of distinction on the coffee table.

From the Judges

Judges agreed, this nomination had a strong series of photos with great action shots. Additionally, the panel loved the black and white photos and the overall quality of each individual photograph.