PROCESS BOOK
“Hey, welcome to the office! First things first, we need you to design an annual health report.” “Okay, awesome! How long will this be?” “Oh, about 100 pages.” “Okay, awesome! When do you need this by?” “How’s next Tuesday sound?” Day one of this yearlong design story started out something like that - a frightening, “holy crap what have I gotten myself into,” amazing whirlwind of a story. The report turned out to be not 100, but 200 pages, and my time at Community Connection turned out to be a wild ride. After one report down and a montage of hectic days behind me, I was faced with the questions: what would I do with my time at Community Connection? How would I make a difference in an organization that was doing so much good in my town? Easy questions to ask, not as easy to answer. I dove into constructing a brand identity, increasing awareness of their 2-1-1 referral hotline, creating an intricate social media strategy, and, perhaps most importantly, learning how to make edible gluten-free pasta meals from my office mates.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Brand Identity
Promotional Material
2-1-1 Awareness Campaign
Style Guide, Branding
Brainstorming, Posters, Bookmarks, Handouts, Folders, Social, Guides
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Digital + Social
Annual Reports
Related Projects
Website, Research, Social
Homeless + Poverty Coalition, Wellness Project, MLK Day, Youth Development Task Force
BRAND IDENTITY
Community Connection is: trustworthy, innovative, and a jack of all trades. They needed a modern, clean, design that would put viewers - whether they be community members or potential donors - at ease. The organization was relied upon to help the town in so many ways, and their brand needed to relate their skill, dedication, and dependability. Existing visual pieces had a few common threads: blue, green, orange, harder lines, and busy text. They had a strong foundation, but their identity needed to be pulled together with more consistency, more softness, and more simplicity.
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TYPOGRAPHY
COLORS
HEADER
LIGHT BLUE
Proxima Nova, Bold
#1CB4F1
Primary Color
Subheader SUBHEADER Tisa Pro, Bold
Body
Proxima Nova, Regular
ACCENT
Franklin Gothic URW Ext Comp D Demi
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LIGHT GREEN
#8DC740
Primary Color
ORANGE #E77324 Secondary Color
DARK BLUE Secondary Color
#0B6A90
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Personal business card with company information inside
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Business cards are often the first look people get into your company, and Community Connection had several versions. The first step? Getting everyone on board with the same cards. The second? Making sure those cards reflect the new, streamlined look of the organization. I went through several drafts and ultimately decided on a card that featured the sunburst element of the logo, while also including a removable information card about the organization and its 2-1-1 hotline. So often, business cards are lost or tossed into a drawer. By including a removable insert with information that could help individuals in their daily lives, there’s hope that the insert will go up on the fridge and Community Connection’s name will be seen, with its services, over a longer period of time.
Business Card Drafts
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PROMO MATERIALS
From left to right: letter, survey, flyer
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2-1-1 AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
Community Connection offers an amazing service, a service that embodies its slogan so perfectly: ensuring no need goes unmet. Community members can call the 2-1-1 hotline and, with the help of a 2-1-1 resource specialist, be connected with local resources and non-profits. So many groups exist in Northeast Georgia with the goal of helping others. The problem is that no one knows what they do or how to find them in times of crisis. Community Connection’s resource database collects all of this information in a central location and connects individuals with those who can provide assistance. 2-1-1 faces two hurdles in the area. First of all, 2-1-1 is a national initiative, with each local hotline run by a different group. Unfortunately, each hotline is not handled with as much efficiency as Community Connection’s service. Therefore, many in the community have stopped calling the number due to the negative associations surrounding it. Secondly, many just don’t know it exists. The ultimate goal of this campaign is to increase positive associations with and overall awareness of the 2-1-1 line and the online resource database.
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ervices) when the road seems unclear you’ve reached your destination ONNECTION the hub that connects the community/us all the hub of your/ he community connecting the community connecting you and your community uzzle pieces find the piece that fits your life solving your community puzzle ind that piece that fits putting (all) the pieces together (in our/your community) we fit the pieces together for you fitting the pieces together for you finding he service you’re searching for lending clarity to the community looking over ur community bridging the gap between struggling and surviving bridging the ap between life and community bridging needs bringing the community together making connections (for you) make the connection that counts HELP key to our needs we’ve got you covered making your needs clear hope begins with s help is just a phone call away ROADS all roads/paths lead to us (lead o us) (lead to 211) (lead to community connection) DIFFICULTY (sometimes) the ardest part (of a problem) is not knowing where to turn for help when there’s no where else to turn when you need a little help when you need that extra push when you need a helping hand when you don’t know where to turn we’ve got our back pick up the phone NAVIGATION (slightly misleading) all roads lead ere we can help you navigate the hard stuff your community navigators, at our service your local road map your gps to help (to services) (to community ervices) when the road seems unclear you’ve reached your destination
Step One: Brainstorming. I was given the goal of the campaign and told to go crazy with it. And crazy, I went. The brainstorming process began with a long list of tagline ideas. I knew that I wanted the visual aspects to strongly reflect the wording and chose to start there. Otherwise, I would’ve ended up with a design that I loved and no way to tie it back into the problem at hand.
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1: Connecting Community
2: Connecting Community
5: Local Roadmap
6: Connecting Community
3: Connecting Community
7: Connecting Community
4: Cityscape
8: Connecting Community
Step Two: rough mockups in Photoshop and sketching out ideas on a blank white notepad. The idea of “connecting the community� resonated with me, resulting in several ideas of a town connected by the wires of a 2-1-1 phone line. The designs did not inspire as must trust as I knew they needed to - after all, callers would be trusting Community Connection in their times of need. They needed a visual that communicated protection and wisdom rather than a feeling of togetherness. Going through hardship can be very personal, and using a visual that promoted community could be alienating.
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1: We’ve Got You Covered
2: We’ve Got You Covered
3: We’ve Got You Covered
4: We’ve Got You Covered
Next came, “We’ve Got You Covered.” It spoke to the resource hotline and database’s abilities and trustworthiness in a way that previous ideas had not. The umbrella is covering from commonly experienced issues, such as transportation and healthcare. Through an evolutionary process, the “umbrella poster” grew from its original and overwhelming start to a simplified and eye catching finish.
5: We’ve Got You Covered
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The final design had two versions - the green, to promote the phone number, and the blue, to promote the online database. The posters were strategically placed throughout Northeast Georgia to maximize reach, specifically with community members who needed the services most. The posters were placed in community centers, non-profits, libraries, buses, and more. The blue posters were put in places with easy internet access, like libraries, to encourage immediate action from viewers. In an effort to demonstrate that this 2-1-1 is different than those that might’ve spurned people in the past, the bottom of each poster talks of the services’ unique features. For instance, Community Connection is one of the only hotlines to offer an optional follow-up call to see how callers are managing and if they need more help. Each poster also has a Spanish counterpart to communicate the same messages to Spanish-speaking individuals. The goal is to reach as many in need as possible, and advertising in two languages increases this chance.
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But we can reach more. These 3x2.5� cards were printed with both the phone and online information, with English on one side and Spanish on the other. They were distributed to police officers, firemen, and individuals in other non-profit or service areas, like soup kitchens. These individuals now keep a few cards on their person in case someone asks for help or for services they cannot give. By giving a card and briefly explaining the two opportunities to seek help, individuals now have this information written down and can refer to it at any time. This not only increases awareness of the services but retention as well.
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English
Spanish
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Bookmarks with the same information as the cards were printed and distributed in bulk to local libraries. They serve as another physical piece of information that individuals can keep and refer to when needed.
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English
Spanish
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In an effort to save time and provide consistent information across the board, this foldable poster was created. It contains information about the campaign’s goals and each of the services. The poster was delivered to nonprofits and locations along with the posters, as well as several additional non-profits working with Community Connection. This accomplishes two things. One, the staff at each location now understand the purpose and importance of displaying the posters. Two, if ever asked questions about the campaign material, they can give informed, consistent answers.
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The “Community Connection Pocket Guide� has been in existence for years. It is given in bulk to area non-profits to reference or distribute, and it contains categorized contact information for local resources. The original goal was to phase out the pocket guide and transition to the online database, as the online version can be continually updated as information changes or becomes available. However, this proposal received criticism from pocket guide advocates. Faced with the decision of letting others create their own guide or continuing to provide their own reliable one, the organization chose to continue production. The design was updated to maintain visual consistency with Community Connection and the 2-1-1 campaign.
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Community Connection also held several information sessions and volunteer recruiting events throughout Northeast Georgia, necessitating hand-out materials to accompany the campaign.
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Social media graphics were made for Community Connection’s two active platforms, Facebook and Instagram, as well as a banner for their website. The design is consistent with the campaign’s visuals, fonts, and colors, relying on blocks of orange to call attention to the information.
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Website
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DIGITAL + SOCIAL
Website Banners
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Community Connection lacked the resources to delve into the complicated world of social media - that’s where I came in. I spent a month researching best social media practices and how to best implement them for this organization and their target audience. Within this social media guide are tips for writing content, data to aid the scheduling of posts, posting suggestions and graphics to accompany them, handpicked opportunities to increase interaction and engagement, and instructions to edit content in Photoshop in accordance with Community Connection’s style guide.
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Social Media Guidelines: pages 4 + 5
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The social media guide encourages several weekly posts, such as #MeetTheTeam and #FridayFindings. In an effort to maintain consistency for each themed post, I created six Photoshop templates that are easily edited and updated with new information. For instance, when a new intern starts, it will be easy to input their picture and name, add the required effects, and post to the web.
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ANNUAL REPORTS
The Community Health Needs Assessments are a product of a year’s worth of research and community surveying. Northeast Georgia has a myriad of organizations wanting to help - but what does the area need? What are its citizens most lacking? The Needs Assessments sought to uncover each county’s most prominent needs in order to better allocate and utilize donations. The problem with lengthy reports? Just that: they’re lengthy. Engaging readers with a clean and colorful design became the goal.
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Two reports, over 300 combined pages, and a year of research - that’s what goes into Community Connection’s Community Health Needs Assessments. The organization was branching out into new territory, a territory that they hoped to claim as their own. In the past, Community Connection funded themselves through donations and an annual Taste of Athens fundraising event. When they realized that they could devote months of work into meaningful and relevant research instead of event planning - as good as the food was - they jumped at the chance. Now, several large organizations in Northeast Georgia, from hospitals to non-profits, are seeking out Community Connection’s health assessment expertise. The design stemmed from an existing report structure and incorporated the organization’s colors, fonts, and professional style. The reports have less of a playful style due to the analytical nature of their content.
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RELATED PROJECTS
Logo Drafts
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Category icons for future promotional materials From left to right: lifelong learning, transportation, health, community safety, sense of place, housing, economic wellness, aging, community involvement
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Logo Drafts 1 - 10
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Logo Drafts
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Logo Drafts
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ONE YEAR LATER...
It’s been a whole year in the Community Connection office - days of Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, brand awareness and social media sleuthing, brainstorming and reworking. I’ve gained so much from my time here. My design skills have grown and evolved, my perspective of design work in the real world continues to be shaped, and my gluten-free pasta recipes are now more than mediocre.
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