A fresh new look for BD+C

We hope you've noticed the new look of Building Design+Construction. Since the launch of our last redesign nearly five years ago, the world has gone through dramatic changes in the way information is being delivered to you and other professionals in the AEC industry.

We felt that it was time to freshen up our look to meet changing conditions, while maintaining both the quality and the core value proposition of the publication.

The new look starts on the cover with the bolder logo, which puts a stronger emphasis on all three elements of the market that we serve. We've also moved our thematic tagline, “Inspiring the Building Team,” to a more visually effective location below the logo. As always, we'll be featuring dramatic cover photography to illustrate our major Cover Story theme.

The new look also acknowledges that you are busier than ever. Like busy professionals everywhere, you're scanning first and reading later. That's OK—we understand. To make the most of your precious time, we've brightened up the Table of Contents to steer you more efficiently through the issue: News and Departments up front, Feature Articles in the middle, and Products at the end.

We also recognize that you want more of your information needs delivered electronically, so we've started an “e-Contents” page to give you a road map to our Web site, www.BDCnetwork.com. This will help you quickly locate archived articles, Webcasts, podcasts, back issues of our weekly electronic newsletters, and our Continuing Education portal, BD+Cuniversity.

In this and future issues, we'll also be pointing you to reference Web sites and other electronic links where you can gather more product information, photos, schematics, and other valuable data.

We hope you've noticed a couple of new departments this past year: “Professional's Choice” (page 57), which highlights products used regularly by our readers, and “Thought Leaders” (page 66), our “big idea” Q&A with a leading AEC industry figure.

We've also expanded two popular departments: “On the Drawing Board” (page 12), which gives you a first look at new projects; and “Products At Work” (page 58), mini-case studies of how Building Teams have used brand-name products to solve technical problems.

This year, in addition to our long-running Reconstruction+Renovation Awards and our Building Team Awards, we've added two new “Recognition” programs: the BD+C “40 Under 40” Awards (March) highlighting the rising stars of the AEC industry; and our “Best AEC Firms To Work For” Awards (May), spotlighting firms that excel in talent development, effective business organization, and employee relations. Later this year, you'll be learning about “Dream Clients AEC Firms Want To Work With” and AEC Industry “Movers+Shapers.” The addition of these new “Recognition” awards programs and technology departments provided another incentive for us to unify the magazine's look.

Let me know your opinion of BD+C's new look. Please send your comments to: rcassidy@reedbusiness.com and put “Redesign” in the Subject line. Thanks!