Castro Valley Sanitary District 2020 Annual Report
Creative direction, layout & editorial design, photography, information design, copywriting • July—November 2019
Every year, Castro Valley Sanitary District releases a joint Annual Report and Calendar (CAR). As a publication, the CAR is widely anticipated and renowned within the Castro Valley community, as it has been published each year for two decades — and I had the joy of working on the 20th edition.
I was taken on to map out and pursue the creative direction for the 20th edition, aptly themed "The Sustainable Home." The goal of this year's edition was to explore different ways residents and households can practice sustainable lifestyle habits, from zero waste routines to healthy wastewater habits.
The process for compiling the CAR was twofold. First, I needed to determine the best way to organize and design the Annual Report according to CVSan's accomplishments over the past year and their hopes and goals for the upcoming year. And second, I needed to tackle the calendar design. That included photographing residents for each month of the year and some change, creating the calendar layout, and connecting the design with the Annual Report such that the entire publication was cohesive and had a logical flow.
This page will cover only the case study for the Annual Report portion of the CAR. For the Calendar case study, visit this page.
Fast facts
22,000
Calendars printed and distributed to Castro Valley residents
5 month project
From start of design to final production
Creative Direction
For the overall creative concept of the Annual Report, I needed the design to be strictly organized. There was so much information to be included in the report, so an effective grid system was a must. I also wanted the information to be clear and cogent from a bird's eye view - so that whether readers are glimpsing over the page or meticulously combing through, they can still capture the essence of the information presented. To do this, I incorporated several design elements like a clear typographic hierarchy, infographics, and generous negative spacing and margins.
Process
The design of the project began officially in July and continued until November. I was responsible for each aspect as outlined below.
Gather information → Propose design and direction → Revise and iterate → Create content around information → Pass through stakeholders → Production and distribution
Infographics and Illustrations
Data was essential to providing the hard facts of how CVSan’s past year went, but I didn’t want readers to feel bogged down by the numbers and statistics. Instead, I took a qualitative approach to each set of data to evaluate where it belonged, how important it was in contributing to the overall picture and theme, and what CVSan may have otherwise wanted to say. For some pieces, I replaced the data with an infographic, illustration, or chart. For other pieces where the numbers were indispensable, I called them out through the design. By incorporating this variety, the report exercises a rhythm and pacing that would otherwise seem flat.
Typography
Avenir is the brand typeface of CVSan, so I incorporated it into the headlines and section titles. Avenir’s letter-widths, simplicity and comfortable geometric type make it a strong performer on top of the photography.
I needed a timeless, familiar typeface for the body information – because there was so much of it. Using Caslon creates an even texture overall, and the high contrast allows for easy and comfortable reading. Plus, the serif enables it to justify extremely well, providing for neat typesetting.
Full Annual Report
View the case study for the Calendar portion of the publication.