Challenge
Tell a complex, human-centred story
Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) has always been about access.
Since its founding, it has helped students of every background pursue meaningful, skills-based education, whether in healthcare, manufacturing, arts, or business. SLCC’s 75th anniversary was a moment to celebrate those achievements and, more importantly, to reaffirm the school’s vision for the future.
The school’s leadership wanted something more than a timeline or list of accolades.
They needed a book that would:
- Showcase the diversity of SLCC’s campuses and communities
- Reflect the voices of students, faculty, and alumni
- Acknowledge the school’s evolution from vocational training to college-level excellence
- And, above all, emphasize SLCC’s role as a catalyst for transformation
That ambition shaped both the content and tone of what would become A College for Everyone.
It had to feel grounded, hopeful, and community-forward, just like the institution it represented.
Solution
A bold, people-first anniversary book
Working in close partnership with SLCC’s internal teams, Echo built the book around the real stories of people who had passed through its doors and those still shaping its future.
Instead of focusing on institutional stats alone, we prioritized:
- Portraits and profiles of students, staff, and alumni
- Stories that reflected social mobility, mentorship, and determination
- A design language that felt energetic and accessible
The visual approach was confident but warm.
We used a vibrant colour palette that echoed the diversity of SLCC’s population. Typography was clean and bold, offering clarity and rhythm throughout. Photo spreads added life and intimacy.
Sidebars, timelines, and quotes were layered in to provide historical grounding, without breaking the human thread.
The book also subtly nodded to the school’s inclusive brand messaging. From the cover to the final page, A College for Everyone made a clear statement: this school belongs to its people.
Result
A legacy project that keeps giving
A College for Everyone was launched during SLCC’s 75th anniversary celebrations and quickly became a touchstone for the community.
Distributed across campuses and events, it offered students a sense of pride and place. Alumni shared it with families. Faculty used it to reflect on how far the college had come— and what remained possible.
The book also proved useful beyond celebrations. SLCC now uses it as part of their advancement and recruitment materials. Donors and partners receive copies as a tangible symbol of institutional vision and credibility.
And the impact continues to grow. Because this wasn’t just a history book. It was a values piece, a community artifact, and a recruitment tool all in one.
One more cool thing...
The title came first—and said it all
The phrase A College for Everyone was more than a tagline. It was the heart of the book.
From the beginning, SLCC’s team wanted to affirm the school’s mission as an open-access institution committed to equity and opportunity.
What’s more, the people we interviewed — whether first-generation students or faculty members with decades of service — repeated that idea in their own words.
This truly was a college for everyone.
By shaping the book around that truth, we created a legacy piece that was both aspirational and authentic.
Fun fact. ECHO collaborated with junior designer and former SLCC student Alex Martinez to create the cover of the book. The result was a clean and sophisticated cover balancing out the bold and bright interior, and creating a timeless look to live long beyond their 75th year.
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