Readers of the print version of PAW may be thinking that the magazine looks a little fresher — but perhaps they can’t put a finger on why. 

For that, I thank PAW art director Marianne Nelson. Over the summer, Nelson led a staff effort to update PAW’s look in small but meaningful ways: a commitment to larger images, an airier design, cleaner department headings and headlines, a simpler and more elegant color palette. The goal was to make PAW more contemporary while maintaining what makes it familiar and intimate.

Other changes relate to content. In Alumni Scene, you will find a short feature called “Starting Out,” which highlights the first steps taken by young alumni after graduation. Our Letters section is now called “Inbox,” to recognize that the published missives increasingly come to us as more informal emailed notes or as comments posted at PAW Online (PAW publishes these comments in print only with permission of the writers). The Inbox section also is home to “Buzz Box,” which focuses on topics that have sparked active conversations online, and “Catching up @PAW Online,” which highlights some of the best of our Web-only content in case you missed it. 

Throughout the magazine, we are using graphics and other tools to better ­integrate print PAW and its digital face: at PAW Online (paw.princeton.edu) and on Facebook and Twitter. Together, we hope the changes will make the print ­experience better than ever while helping you find a second home in PAW’s expanding world online.