In 2004 when I first began at the IMA, our marketing offices were in a small  cottage adjacent to the main museum building. Built in the early part of the 20^th century, the home was part of the original estate on which the museum now resides. Fresh out of grad school and new to the working world, I loved the cottage for its warmth and coziness. The PR and marketing coordinators sat in what used to be the living room. The graphic designers were squeezed into two upstairs rooms that were once perhaps the nursery. I shared a corner bedroom/office with my colleague Jessica.

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Filed under: Marketing, Musings

How do you make a magazine that captures the essence of a museum and theater, two historical estates, acres of glorious gardens and grounds, and a soon-to-be art and nature park? This is the question that has been on the top of my mind lately. It’s challenging, yet fun, to envision a magazine that entices readers to toss it aside half way through and come see for themselves. A magazine that demonstrates our mission and shows donors where their money is going. A magazine that the community sees themselves in and readers oceans away find engaging through online connections.

I sat down with IMA Senior Graphic Designer Matthew Taylor last week in the Design Studio to take a hard look at our current IMA membership magazine (Previews) and talk content and design. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Design, Interviews, Marketing, Musings

6 years ago, I stood in a classroom on the campus of Indiana University and gave a presentation on the marketing department of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. A first year graduate student pursuing my master’s degree in Arts Administration, I was enrolled in a course called Arts Marketing and Audience Development. As part of that course we were required to analyze the marketing program of an arts organization that we admired. Significantly, I chose to do my class project on the IMA.

I’m not going to bore you with the over-confident analysis outlined in my paper. (I’m embarrassed at how much I thought I knew.) Nor will I link to my power point presentation. (I was a bit obsessed with animation and clip art). However, I will provide you with the final lines of my paper: Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Marketing, Musings