Annual Report and On-Site Brochures
The Need
A non-profit organization that focuses on training advancement professionals from universities was looking to elevate their annual report and on-site event materials.
The Project
I evaluated their existing branding and documents and determined the best course to create program materials that felt in line with what they already produced for previous cohorts of the program. I developed a robust set of visual elements that guided the reader to pertinent information, whether it was event details during their multi-day trainings or participant testimonials or statistics in the annual report.
The Process
The heart of the program is the cohort of participants and their bench leaders, so I developed table styling to organize headshots and university information, to help new participants connect in a real-time environment. The headshots were also used in the timeline of events, so participants could quickly lock in with each presenter.
For the on-site program materials, it was important to provide a handy reference to the details they needed to know during their jam-packed days of hands-on learning. I focused on spreads that were skimmable and succinct at the beginning of the booklet, while the back half allowed for detailed bio pages from the mentors who presented throughout the experience.
For the annual report, I kept the styling consistent with the on-site materials, to create cohesion and build brand recognition. The annual report needed to include program event schedules; information about participants, leaders, and mentors; statistics about participant experiences and attitudes; case studies; and details about the organization itself.
I interspersed photography throughout to keep the reader connected to the people at the heart of the program, as well as quotations taken from participant surveys, so it was easy to see the real impact the program had on each cohort.
The page layouts throughout the annual report are built within a flexible system that allows for different amounts of content in each section and engages the user by avoiding a rigid template where every page feels the same. This approach derives consistency through unified treatment of page elements and text styling. Strategic use of colored, bolded words also guide the user to the most pertinent information, keeping text skimmable, but inviting the reader to dive deeper on anything that catches their interest.
The result has been a body of organizational materials that improves the strength of their branding, engenders trust in the organization when approaching new universities to build additional cohorts, and communicates clearly the value that the programming brings to participants and the advancement community as a whole.
