Mary Hare’s Vibrant Yearbook Design
Client Overview
Mary Hare School is the largest school for deaf children in the UK, located in Newbury, Berkshire. As a national charity and a non-maintained special school, Mary Hare provides education for profoundly and severely deaf children from Reception through Sixth Form. The school offers both boarding and day school options, welcoming students aged 4 to 19 from across the UK. For many years, The Graphic Design House (TGDH) has handled the print and mailing needs for Mary Hare, and the 2024 edition of Soundwave Magazine marked our first design project for the school, allowing us to provide a full design, print and mail solution.
The Opportunity
Mary Hare tasked us with designing a 32-page magazine that would capture the events, successes, and experiences of the school year, from Reception to Sixth Form. This magazine serves not only as a cherished keepsake for current students and parents but also as a powerful marketing tool for prospective families. Given the significance of the publication, the team at TGDH recognised the opportunity to create a design that would resonate with the school’s community and accurately reflect the unique identity of Mary Hare.
“The design is excellent – we had an initial consultation, following which we had a concept stage and I felt Amy and the team did a brilliant job of understanding what we were looking for, capturing us as a school that has many aspects to it, and creating a fresh new look for the magazine.”
Selina Cross
Marketing Manager
Mary Hare School
Our Approach
Understanding the importance of this publication as both a yearbook and a promotional tool, we set out to create a design that would be visually engaging, meaningful, and representative of Mary Hare’s vibrant school life.
- Creative Concepts: We presented three creative design routes, each offering a different approach to the cover design, image galleries, and article layouts. The chosen design included a new masthead, Soundwave, which was inspired by the concept of soundwaves—a fitting nod to the school’s focus on deaf education. The masthead featured subtle movement in the letters, with a soundwave illustration incorporated into the letter ‘O’.
- Sectional Layout: To ensure clarity and visual appeal, the magazine was divided into sections that represented different school years, from Reception to Sixth Form. We used the Mary Hare colour palette to distinguish these sections, making it easy for readers to navigate through the magazine and highlighting the progression of students throughout their time at the school.
- Design Refinement: After receiving feedback from the initial concepts, we blended two mastheads and two design routes to create a final design that felt more aligned with Mary Hare’s identity. This iterative process ensured that the final product was not only aesthetically pleasing but also deeply reflective of the school’s values and community spirit.
The Results
For a school like Mary Hare, which serves a specialised community, it is crucial to have materials that not only inform but also inspire. The Soundwave Magazine serves as a testament to the school’s dedication to excellence, providing a window into the vibrant life of the school and reinforcing its appeal to prospective families. By delivering a high-quality, well-designed publication, TGDH played a key role in helping Mary Hare communicate its mission and achievements in a way that is both engaging and memorable.
The final product was a 32-page magazine with a cover printed on 300gsm silk and internal pages on 170gsm silk. To elevate the magazine’s look and feel, we used Spot UV as a special finish on the masthead, giving it a high-quality, tactile element that enhanced its appeal as a keepsake.
The design of Soundwave Magazine was more than just a creative exercise—it was about capturing the essence of Mary Hare School in a way that would resonate with students, parents, and prospective families. By creating a visually striking and thoughtfully organized magazine, we helped strengthen the school’s brand identity and provided a lasting memento that students and parents will treasure for years to come. This project underscores the importance of personalised design in creating materials that truly reflect the unique character of an institution.
Next Steps
Following the successful completion of Soundwave Magazine, TGDH is eager to continue our partnership with Mary Hare School. Our next steps involve exploring additional design opportunities for the school, focusing on further enhancing their marketing materials and communication tools. We are committed to supporting Mary Hare in its mission to provide exceptional education for deaf children and look forward to contributing to their ongoing success.
“Working with Amy also went smoothly, and I felt confident that amends were actioned accurately and that she kept the design into consideration throughout those changes.”
Selina Cross
Marketing Manager
Mary Hare School
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