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AURAS NEWS

AURAS Master Classes Become [FPO] Branded

The next Master Class session will be held in Washington, DC on May 8-9, 2008. The Master Classes have become part of the [FPO] branding, but still feature a 4 session arc from FPO Publisher and AURAS Creative Director Rob Sugar. These will be augmented with new sessions focusing on production, editing & writing and creativity. For a preliminary look at the content go to www.fpomagazine.com/masterclass. Early registration begins February 15th. [FPO] subscribers receive a $150 discount for up to three staff members.

ASRT Brings AURAS On Board for a Total Makeover

Scanner Magazine, the keystone publication of the American Society Of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) will undergo a major renovation under the supervision of AURAS Design. Like many association publications whose scope and mission have been impacted by the nearly complete saturation of internet access among members, Scanner will have a complete renovation of content to position the association publication as a leader for the entire professional community. AURAS is working with ASRT to develop new content, leveraging the resources of the entire organization, and producing a new editorial package as part of a complete redesign of the magazine. The relaunch of Scanner will begin with the October 2008 issue.

Kentucky Living Wants to Get Green

The magazine of the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives is getting a makeover and repositioning to be a more effective advocate of energy saving through going green. Many electrical cooperative publications focus on regional arts and culture and only peripherally address energy issues, but the new Kentucky Living is being repositioned to become a more focused title reflecting the heightened desire on the part of coop members to become better environmental consumers.

[FPO] Launches at Folio:Show 2007

The premier issue of FPO Magazine made its debut at the 2007 Folio:Show in New York on September 24th. Over a thousand copies were distributed to the attendees of the show and the publication became a major topic of conversation during breaks between events. The premier issue has a street date of Winter 2008. The Spring issue will be mailed in mid-March. For a taste of [FPO], go to www.fpomagazine.com and download a 20-page sample of the first issue. While you are there, it’s easy to subscribe.

AURAS Assumes Design and Production of AASA School Administrator Magazine

After providing a design tweak in 2006, and a year of art direction for the AASA publication, AURAS has begun to design and produce the entire magazine. AURAS and AASA are using our new Simple Contract, which provides an all-inclusive design and production fee based on a single page rate, allowing clients to easily figure their budgeting and understand their costs. The Simple Contract uses the single page rate multiplied by the pages in each issue with no other standard fees except art purchases to determine the billing. There are no additional fees for art direction, scanning, pdf production, editorial corrections, ad trafficking or printer liaising.

The AURAS Simple Contract is an outgrowth of our standard billing procedures in light of the extensive changes in production workflow over the last three years in the printing industry.

Rob Sugar Presentation at Folio:Show

At the fall Folio:Show on October 23rd, Rob presented a Town Hall Lecture called “Using C/P/R to Revive Your Publications. The session demonstrated a new technique that AURAS has been using to reinvigorate publications during a redesign by comparing the content against three benchmark ideals—servicing the reader COMMUNITY; delivering unmatched quality of PRODUCT presentation and review, and developing unique franchise content that is REFERENCE material only found in the publication. This successful technique results in a publication that serves its readership better and generates more effective and engaging editorial and design packages.

AURAS’s quarterly newsletter from Spring 2006 has a feature article on the subject and the Folio:Show presentation in PDF form with annotation (14MB file) is now available in the downloads section of our website.

AURAS Wins OZZIE for UL

It was also announced at Folio:Show that Urban Land Magazine received an Ozzie award in the category of best redesign of an association publication. To see the redesign, download the Winter 2006 AuDience, or check our downloads for UL’s style guide, précis and a PDF of the redesigned magazine.

Standardization News Contracts AURAS for Makeover

ASTM International, a 30,000-member organization that creates global standards for a diverse array of products and materials has hired AURAS to redesign its flagship publication. The purpose of the magazine is to inform its members of the ongoing work of the more than 140 committees that make up the organization as well as reporting the impact of the application of their standards in the global market.

AURAS Announces New Publication—FPO

Aiming to fill a void of practical and inspiring content for professional magazine creatives, AURAS Publications announced the launch of a new magazine aimed squarely at editors, art directors and production managers of the 28,000 publications produced across the Americas. For Publications Only, or FPO, will be produced quarterly starting with the Fall 2007 issue. For a sample contents page and to take advantage of a prepublication subscription rate, go to www.fpomagazine.com.

AURAS Downsizes MSTA Tabloid

The Maryland State Teachers Association has replaced their tabloid newsmonthly Action Line with a new and improved bimonthly magazine. The redesigned publication takes advantage of the new format to develop more in-depth features and a more direct topic-oriented content structure. AURAS worked with MSTA’s communications department on the restructuring, providing a new issue map and template for their in-house staff to use.

PREVIOUS NEWS

AURAS Fall Master Classes Slated for April

Reserve April 17 and 18, 2007 to attend the most valuable seminars that you may ever attend. The sessions have all been recently updated and this series will add extra time for networking, reviewing your publications and attendee Q&A. The two-day session consists of four separate classes that encourage attendees to think about their magazines in a fresh light. A full listing of information is available at auras.com/masterclass.

Ancestry Magazine Finds AURAS

Ancestry Magazine, part of the $120-million myfamily.com web site hosting business has called on AURAS to revamp their print publication as part of an effort to increase the subscription penetration of the title among the web site’s subscribers.

AURAS Plaza Almost Finished

In front of the AURAS Building, a one-year project to build a wonderful pedestrian plaza has almost been completed. The small “pocket park” is a joint effort between AURAS and Montgomery County’s Silver Spring Regional Center to create a center of focus at the important intersection of Georgia and Wayne Avenues, across from the headquarters of Discovery Communications in downtown Silver Spring. The park will feature a commissioned sculpture in the center of a raised circular bed surrounded by plantings, stone and brick paving and benches for enjoying the view. You can watch a Quicktime time-lapse movie of the building of the park. It’s in our studio section.

More on Silver Spring

AURAS is proud to be right at the epicenter of downtown Silver Spring, and also delighted to be employed by the Silver Spring Regional Center and the Montgomery County CVB to create standardized identity collateral for the area. Our most recent contributions have been a Dining Guide and a web site design and print campaign to encourage utilization of the site. We have also produced a small promotional piece for hotels, convention services and city organizations to use when promoting tourism to the downtown area. Check out silverspringdowntown.com and see where we live and work.

World Bank Contracts AURAS

AURAS recently signed a three-year contract with the World Bank to provide graphic design services, renewing a relationship begun more than ten years ago. Previously, AURAS has designed books, book covers, promotional materials and identity programs for the Bank.

AURAS Pumps Up Fitness Management

Athletic Business Publications, which tapped AURAS last year for a redesign of its flagship magazine has returned to engage AURAS to redesign a recently acquired title, Fitness Management. They hope to improve the title’s position among both subscription and B2B competitors with a revamping that focuses on the publication’s strongest assets, it’s solutions-oriented editorial calendar.

Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine Sews Up Deal

Primedia Special Interest Publications have hired AURAS to redesign their oldest and largest circulation publication for quilting enthusiasts. The magazine, Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine hasn’t been significantly changed in over a decade. The new design will premier in late fall.

Infocomm Contracts AURAS for 2007 Show

Infocomm, the largest conference and exhibition for AV professionals in the world has retained AURAS to design and produce all of their marketing materials for their June 07 show. AURAS and Infocomm have worked together before. In 2002, AURAS redesigned the organization’s communications and identity materials, and produced an award-winning campaign for their 2003 show as well as a three-year awareness campaign for the industry.

Studio Arts Magazine Molds New Entrepreneurs

The Rosen Group of Baltimore Maryland is launching a new title aimed at helping crafts artists expand their business skills. The title, Studio Arts, is a relaunch of Crafts Business, a title Rosen gained a majority interest in last year. Their intention is to reposition the publication as the premiere resource for craft-business information. AURAS is designing the premiere issue for launch in October, and will continue producing quarterly issues for the Group.

Penn Lines Asks AURAS for a Recharge

Pennsylvania Rural Electrical Cooperatives has commissioned AURAS to redesign their signature publication sent to all its members. The new design, set to launch in the fall, will be the first change in the publication in almost a decade. The goals of the redesign are to bring a fresh, more contemporary look to the pages and also reemphasize the cooperative’s most important mission—encouraging its members to conserve and use energy wisely.

Living Southern Style Gets a Prosumer Makeover

Here’s a great business model. RPI Communications produces regional shows promoting vacation and retirement communities in the Southern US, and then backs up its promotion with a glossy promotional-consumer hybrid magazine called Living Southern Style. Add an interactive web portal into the mix and you have the basis for a great business that can mine the same advertising sources on three synergistic platforms. The model has a lot of legs too, and the first direction RPI has tested is expanding the regional reach of its shows, backed up by a redesign of its magazine to inject a stronger editorial component that moves the title much closer to true newsstand viability. AURAS helped reshape the magazine’s editorial issue map and gave the book a smart modern look.

AURAS Starts Up Chemical Biology

Peer-review journals are among the most formulaic and traditional magazine archetypes, which is why when we were asked to design a new one for the American Chemical Society we were surprised and a little doubtful when the creative brief called for a “new approach” to the format. After a whirlwind design process that lasted a mere 8 weeks, we were pleasantly surprised that most of our new design ideas, including new ways of producing the papers and greater interaction with their web site—not to mention a pretty freaky nameplate—were accepted. The first few issues have been produced, and you can check them out here.

Urban Land Magazine Redesign a Success

AURAS has just finished an extensive redesign of the Urban Land Institute’s premiere publication. This is something of a homecoming, since AURAS redesigned the 65-year-old magazine once before, in 1992. This time, however, the ULI made use of AURAS’s exclusive redesign process to completely renovate the publication with a new editorial map, new graphics and a new mix of content. The remade magazine launched with the January 2006 issue. The redesign will eventually be applied to ULI’s other publications as well. For an in-depth look at the redesign, download the Winter 2006 issue of AuDience. You can also find the precis and style guide for this publication in our downloads section, as well as a PDF of the publication in its entirety.

AUdience Winter 2007

AUdience winter 2007

Past Issues of AUdience

Spring 2005

Spring 2004	Summer 2004	fall 2004