DJ Stout’s LMU Magazine Redesign Wins the CASE 2020 Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year Award
The publication of Loyola Marymount University received the prestigious honor, considered the ‘Oscar’ of the higher education world.
LMU Magazine, the official publication of Loyola Marymount University (LMU) based in Los Angeles, California has been awarded the CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) 2020 Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year Award. The prestigious honor, considered the “Oscar” of the higher education world, was announced in June. LMU Magazine, designed by Pentagram’s Austin office, was recognized as the best educational advancement magazine from a field of eleven finalists (including the University of Colorado, Boulder’s Coloradan magazine, also designed by Pentagram Austin, and Northwestern University’s Northwestern Magazine, designed by Pentagram New York).
Partner DJ Stout, principal of the Austin office, and his team first redesigned Loyola Marymount University’s alumni magazine in 2010, changing the publication's name from Vistas to LMU Magazine, and has been designing and art directing the magazine ever since. Stout and his team redesigned the magazine again in 2019 and two of the issues from that refresh ended up catching the attention of the 2020 CASE judges. This was the first Robert Sibley Award winner for LMU and the second for Pentagram Austin. Stout’s design of Denison University’s Denison Magazine won the award in 2006. Congratulations to our longtime LMU Magazine partners Maureen Pacino, Joe Wakelee-Lynch and Jon Rou.
The selection of LMU Magazine was a unanimous decision by the jurors who posted these comments:
"We were pleased to bestow, unanimously and enthusiastically, the 2020 Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year award on LMU, the magazine of Loyola Marymount University in California. Starting with two brilliant covers and cover stories (‘Dramatis Personae’ and ‘Who Are We?’), this magazine had it all. The writing, choice of topics, design, illustration, and photography were all superb. This is a smart, engaging, and thoughtful magazine—consistently interesting, surprising, and provocative to any reader, regardless of college affiliation. LMU tackles politics and religion head-on; its subjects and authors celebrate the diversity of Los Angeles; and it gives readers a true sense of place, whether they have ever set foot on campus or not. Alongside its editorial excellence, every design and graphic choice is thoughtful, always serving the story and reader experience. This is a superb periodical that exemplifies how good a university magazine can be."
In addition to the Sibley, LMU Magazine was also honored with two Gold Medals, two Silvers and a Bronze in the CASE Circle of Excellence Awards. The Coloradan won Grand Gold in the Awards, and USC Annenberg magazine, designed by Pentagram Austin, and Northwestern Magazine and Wharton Magazine, designed by Pentagram New York, were all honored with Gold Medals in the Awards.
