Southern Swallow Sponsors Brochure Design for Arkansas STEM Coalition

Southern Swallow is proud to announce the successful print of the new Arkansas STEM Coalition marketing brochure, which showcases the organization’s programs and impact to date.

Arkansas STEM Coalition is a 501(c)(3) non-profit focused on expanding the capacity and diversity of the Arkansas STEM workforce pipeline through implementation of rigorous STEM education programming in the state.

“The goal for the project was to communicate the progress that the Arkansas STEM Coalition has made in the past 6 years to advocate for and to support STEM Education,” says Arkansas STEM Coalition Executive Director Suzanne Mitchell. “The brochure will be distributed at state and regional Arkansas STEM Coalition meetings to show the quality of STEM programs and the growth of STEM opportunities for students, teachers and communities. The brochure will also be used to share and promote additional STEM programs around the state and to convince business and industry representation and we are contributing to building a strong STEM-skilled pipeline.”

Through its many programs, including the License Plate Program, STEM Girls Leadership Conferences, and a multitude of educator professional development programs, among other programs, the Arkansas STEM Coalition has positively impacted science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education in our state. The License Plate Program has, for example, facilitated the distribution of more than $600,000 in funds for science equipment and teacher support, impacting 38,955 students since 2012. This program, in partnership with the Arkansas Committed to Education Foundation, enables Arkansans to purchase an education-themed speciality license plate, from which the proceeds go to STEM education statewide.

The STEM Coalition also partners with Walmart’s initiative for Million Women Mentors, Governor Asa Hutchinson’s Computer Science Initiative, and a slew of Robotics Programs to ensure quality STEM education developments in Arkansas. Each of these programs are showcased in the new brochure, which you can peruse in print or online:

It is precisely because of the beneficial educational work the Arkansas STEM Coalition does in our state that Southern Swallow was honored to collaborate pro bono on this brochure design project. Southern Swallow founder and CEO Erica Swallow worked closely with Arkansas STEM Coalition Chairman Walter Burgess and Executive Director Suzanne Mitchell to envision a brochure design that encapsulates the affect the organization has on students statewide. She also traveled around Arkansas to capture photos for the brochure, a skill she was excited to expand upon. All but four photos in the brochure were taken by Swallow.

“The experience working with Erica Swallow was amazing. She is highly organized with timelines, diagrams, a multitude of pictures and script. She is patient and available when needed to follow-through with project design. I highly recommend her for similar projects, because she maintained a pleasing attitude, a desire to complete quality work, and a focus on completing the project on time.”

— Suzanne Mitchell, Executive Director, Arkansas STEM Coalition

Southern Swallow brought in designer Dakota Felder to make the brochure vision a reality with his contemporary design touch. Felder is a product of Arkansas STEM education, in fact. A recent graduate of eStem High School, Felder is an alum of the EAST Initiative, a program that gives students unbridled access to technology and the opportunity to work on team-based community service projects using that technology. Swallow had worked with Felder on previous design projects, including on the creation of a program brochure, event website, and printed event agenda for education nonprofit Noble Impact, where Swallow served as VP of Product and Felder participated as a high school scholar.

“Dakota is an exceptional designer, particularly given that he just graduated high school this year,” says Swallow. “He is passionate about what he does and always surprises me with the new elements he brings to projects. I’ve now worked with Dakota on a handful of initiatives, and he’s my go-to pick for design work here in Little Rock. It’s incredibly important to me, too, to support young creatives working towards their career goals. I see him going far.”

Felder completed a design apprenticeship with Little Rock-based design firm Few while in the Noble Impact program at eStem High School, lending to his strength in graphic design, which he applied to this project.

“The goal of the brochure was giving the STEM Coalition a bit of a visual refresh,” says Felder. “For people being introduced to what the STEM Coalition does, I see it as being very useful. It’s a lot of content that could previously be found scattered all throughout the STEM Coalition’s information, but having it all aggregated into something thats easily digestible makes a difference. I hope the brochure does more than just introduces people to what the STEM Coalition does. As a designer, I hope the brochure inspires the STEM Coalition to hold itself to the highest of standards when it comes to branding.”

This brochure is the first of its kind for the Arkansas STEM Coalition. Mitchell says that it will be helpful in conveying the work that the organization has done and the vision it has for Arkansas students.

The new Arkansas STEM Coalition brochures were co-sponsored by Southern Swallow — which lent design, photography, and copy expertise — and Horton Brothers Printing, which steeply discounted printing costs for the project. Special thank you to Scott Horton for making the print smooth and cost-effective!

“STEM is everywhere in Arkansas, from manufacturing and agriculture to aviation and small businesses,” says Mitchell. “Every Arkansan needs a strong foundation in STEM concepts and applications in order to be productive citizens and economic contributors. The Coalition plans, encourages, coordinates, and advocates policies, strategies, and programs of excellence in STEM education.”

We look forward to seeing these new brochures in action and hope that they lend to strengthened STEM education in Arkansas through the work the Arkansas STEM Coalition does. Thank you to Walter and Suzanne of the Arkansas STEM Coalition for making this project a pleasure to work on!