CASE STUDY 10 Design and Development Team Produces Market Leader
Recently, a client approached PreMediaGlobal with an existing political science title
that needed to be reinvented in order to survive in today’s market. The manuscript
and previous edition text consisted of 800 pages of dense one-color type with virtually
no illustrations. The publisher asked for a redesign and a new look overall. When
we analyzed the content, we immediately identified that, to be successful, this
project would require input from various areas, not merely a new design. We assem-
bled our team consisting of a developmental editor, designer, photo researcher,
production specialist, and lead project manager to begin mapping out a workflow to
reinvent the final look and how we would get there. In addition to paring down the
existing content by more than 35%, we determined that graphic feature elements,
bold images, and key text displays were just a few of the changes needed to revive
the title. Rather than simply propose this radical change to the publisher and
long time author, we identified a sample chapter and through a collaborative and
integrated approach, we created the redesigned pages. These pages incorporated a
visually appealing layout, graphic content, and display text, along with contemporary
features that enable students to absorb information in multiple ways. This approach
allowed for the use of multiple technology features and links and also was tailored
for a variety of media derivatives.
After viewing the sample chapter, the publisher and author embraced the approach.
Final pages were delivered ahead of schedule and far surpassed the publisher’s
expectations. The title is now the market leader and has set the bar for all competing
texts. Based on this success, we have teamed with this publisher as well as
others to develop, design, and produce innovative content across multiple platforms.
