| Surprised? Confused?
A little startled? If you were not quite sure what magazine you opened,
then we accomplished our goal of real change for Carnegie magazine.
The magazine is not the only thing that is changing at Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, however. In fact, this new magazine reflects changes that are happening across our whole organization as we work to become museums for the 21st century. Incorporating the needs of our audiences into everything we do is key to this process. We now approach our business by asking questions that we—like other museums—have not traditionally asked: Who uses our museums and what kinds of exhibits and programs will be most meaningful to them? How do we incorporate technology to keep pace with the way our visitors experience the world? How can we help our visitors get the most out of their museum experience? As you will read in the Publisher’s message, we have also been asking our members and donors what kind of Carnegie Museums magazine would be most relevant for you. The changes you see in this new Carnegie magazine couple your answers and the demographics of our membership with approaches to magazine design. For example, because we know that over half of our members are younger, working families with limited time to read, while others are at different life stages, this new design provides a range of ways to “access” the magazine. You can check the calendar, read a brief exhibit description or take your time with a feature story. The design also provides a structure and visual cues to help you quickly navigate to the information you need and want. We produce Carnegie magazine for one reason...to share the life and activities of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh with our supporters. By redesigning the magazine so that it is livelier and easier to use, we hope to keep you better informed and encourage you and your family to visit us often. Sincerely,
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I'D LIKE TO TELL
you a bit more about why and how we redesigned Carnegie magazine. The changes
you see came about through conversations with members and donors and your
expressed needs for information about Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. While
our readers are as varied as our museums, we found that most want to use
the magazine as a resource for planning museum visits.
Since you told us that a comprehensive calendar would be the most helpful piece of information we could provide, the calendar has become a priority. A two-month listing for four busy museums takes up quite a few pages, but we wanted to create a calendar that makes it easy for you to find out what’s happening at any museum on any day you might care to visit. Feature stories and sections devoted to each museum provide you with more information about current exhibitions and programs, as well as insider news. You also told us that you’d like more information on using your memberships, so we created “For and About Members and Donors” and located it after the table of contents. Here you will find updates on benefits, information about special member events, profiles of the people who support our museums, and travel film listings. A special section in the calendar called “For Members Only” also provides tips about member privileges. We want to thank the many people who contributed to the redesign of Carnegie magazine and to acknowledge John Brady Design Consultants Inc. in particular. Their creativity, attention to detail and concern for our readers are reflected in the work you see here. We are also grateful to the many members and donors who provided direction by participating in phone surveys and focus groups. As you spend time with the first few issues of this new magazine, we hope you will let us know how it’s working. Please feel free to write or e-mail us at the magazine office addresses: Carnegie magazine, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, or carnegiemag@carnegiemuseums.org. Sincerely,
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