Project Introduction
Wyoming Rural Electric News, or WREN, is the official magazine of Wyoming's electric cooperatives, reaching around 28,000 member households, businesses, and organizations across the state every month (minus a break in January). Alongside cooperative news at the state and national level, WREN spotlights the people and stories that define rural Wyoming life, making it the state's largest rural publication by circulation — a title it's held since 1954.
the challenge
Each year a new theme is decided for the entire volume. We then create an editorial plan for each issue revolved around this theme. Each issue needs to revolve around Wyoming and must have a strong focus on the electric needs of Wyoming.
The solution
Every issue moves through the same core process — mapping out content and layout early, coordinating photography and original graphics, then running each spread through a round of quality checks before it goes to print and out to co-op mailboxes statewide. That consistency behind the scenes is what lets each issue feel polished and on-brand, month after month, no matter how much the featured content changes.
Feature Stories
The feature articles are the main star of WREN magazine. While the rest of the magazine has a pretty consistent feel and brand guide, the feature articles can branch out and have unique art styles that really make them pop. Each story can range from 4-8 pages, and give the reader something to look forward to. Here are a few of my favorite feature designs from over the years.
the result
WREN is an award-winning editorial magazine that enlightens and captivates Wyoming audiences. WREN is the voice of the cooperative network in Wyoming, and readers trust WREN to present complete, balanced information in a beautiful and visually appealing format. Each issue comes together through a mix of writing, photo direction, layout, and editing — pulling from co-op member submissions and original reporting to keep every issue grounded in real Wyoming stories. I focused on giving the magazine a visual rhythm that felt consistent issue to issue while still leaving room for each month's theme to breathe.
This work was created at Linden Marketing while I was employed there between 2020-2026, and is the property of Linden Marketing.
