Web & Graphic Communications

Mission statement
Fairmont State Design Team is a campus resource providing professional layout and design, photography and web services for faculty and staff. Our job is to design high quality products that reflect your project goals and the image and mission of Fairmont State University.

About our team
We are the Office of Web and Graphic Communications, otherwise known as the Design Team. Our mission is to assist our campus clients in developing quality print and online publications to meet their needs, to develop print and online publications that serve the entire campus community and to maintain the identity and image of the institution(s). Our members work together as a team, with each serving a certain niche.

In what instances do I need to involve the Design Team in my publication?
Any publication that is used for an audience outside of our campus needs to go through the Design Team, including materials used for recruitment.

The extent of the team’s involvement, however, depends on the individual publication. For example, if you have an upcoming event and you want to put up posters around campus for promotion, you don’t need to go through the team unless you want design help. If you are doing a program for your event that will be attended by hundreds of people, you should go through the team, if only for proofing services. All brochures that represent Fairmont State programs need to go through the team without question.

Why do we have to do this?
It is the job of the Design Team to maintain standards for the identity of the institution. To do this, all publications need to represent us well. This is our field of expertise. Having a standard procedure also can help our clients avoid mistakes, save time (if they plan properly), save money and have higher quality results.

What is the procedure I must follow?

• The most important aspect is planning. As soon as you realize a need for a publication, you need to contact the Design Team. Don’t wait until the week before you need it. A general rule of thumb is a month in advance.
• The first step is to work on content development for your pub and then contact Amy or Tammy. (Please put together content in a Microsoft Word file. Please don’t add tabs, art, photos or other formatting to the type or attempt to design the publication, although your design suggestions are welcome.)
• Because the team has a variety of clients and projects, your publication will need to fit into the schedule of other projects. Accommodations are made for special deadlines and needs.
• During your initial consultation, deadlines will be set up to guide you through the rest of the process. Depending on what’s needed, Amy will help you shape the content. We have standard statements that must be included in some pubs. Tammy will help with the deadline and printing decisions. Tammy, Bob or Katie will help with design. Johnny will provide photos if needed.
• You will sign off on a proof. If necessary, the school chair or head of your department also will need to sign off on a proof.
• The pub will go to the copy center or printer.