In 2006, Yale University embarked on the most ambitious fundraising drive in its history. President Richard Levin laid out the campaign's objectives and set a challenging goal: to raise three billion dollars in five years. This fall, the campaign comes to an end, crossing the finish line with an extraordinary $3.886 billion, a remarkable figure considering it was raised in the midst of one of the worst global recessions in recent history.
Pentagram is proud to have served as Yale's consultants on this project, designing the campaign's graphic identity, materials for the launch event, and communications pieces over the last half decade.
The biggest question faced by a successful institution like Yale as it embarks on a fundraising effort is often "Why do you need the money?" The campaign's theme, Yale Tomorrow, was meant to shift the emphasis from today to the future, a future filled with unknowable challenges. The campaign case statement book begins with a series of predictive statements about what tomorrow might hold (culled from a survey of Yale faculty), illustrated with evocative photographs (by faculty and graduates of the Yale School of Art's prestigious photography program).
The graphic symbol for “fast forward” is boldly superimposed over a sepia-toned watercolor of James Gamble Rogers's Harkness Tower, a Yale landmark. On the facing page is a passage which concludes, “If we love Yale, we must make sure it is ready for its best tomorrows.” The balance of the book is a detailed description of the campaign's goals and fundraising priorities.
