Sample Academic Newsletters with Critique (Using questions and points from Christine Mohrbacher Design Principles for More Effective Communication).
By Aaron Kelter
Prepared for the LEPF Department, August 2008
More detailed commentary on all of the newsletters can be found here .
NIU Graduate Student Newsletter (Summer 2008)
Comments: It looks very well done. It might overuse special effects just a bit, but it really depends on the reader.
NIU Multiculturalist Newsletter (Fall 2007)
Comments: Really catches the eye and makes you feel like you know the people featured in the newsletter. It offers very thorough, easy-to-understand descriptions of their institution and is very absorbing.
NIU Political Science Newsletter (Spring 2007)
Comments: It might have trouble catching someone's attention, and would most likely even lose a reader's attention if there was too much text. From my experience, reading pages and pages of black and white with no interruptions or fun stuff is the literary equivalent of highway driving. I wouldn't worry too much with this one, though. It has enough pictures.
NIU School of Music Newsletter (October 2004)
Comments: I don't think this could be called anything more than a handout. It lacks the design, images, and structure to really be called a newsletter in my opinion.
NIU Spectrum Newsletter (Spring 2008)
Comments: This newsletter really reminds me of a chapter out of a textbook. It uses very good language and I feel like I want to read more. However, I don't feel educated enough on the topic to truly understand what they are saying.
Evergreen State Masters in Teaching Newsletter (June 2008)
Comments: Good use of overlap. At times it has a scrapbook feel about it.
ICUC Quarterly Chemistry Newsletter (June 2008)
Comments: I really like the use of borders and photos in this one. The header is something that really got my attention, as one doesn't usually see a photo chopped up like that.
Cornell National Agricultural Biotechnology Council Newsletter (Spring 2008)
Comments: It kind of gets to me how the introduction fills up most of the front page and then continues on the last page. Something about that just seems unpolished to me.
Princeton Department of Art and Archaeology Newsletter (Spring 2000)
Comments: This is a newsletter with a very nice design but too much content. I would equate this to a drink that has a nice color to it but is too watered-down to merit taking in the whole thing, as the flavor becomes unappealing after a while. If they could concentrate it and make it a third of what it is now, I think it would be better.
Stanford Speaking of Teaching Newsletter (Winter 2001)
Comments: The borders tend to favor the bottom of the page, which gives it a somewhat unbalanced feel. Other than that, it's pretty good.