Designing with impact

The project.

Broughty Ferry based charity Giving Back decided that the end of the financial year provided the perfect opportunity to tell the story of their formation and summarise the impact they have made in supporting their local community through a range of projects, including support for mental health, the cost of living, and youth employability.

(L-R) Founder Pam McLaughlin with Project Managers Tracy Garty and Fiona Gilmore

The brief.

As a start-up charity, reliant on funding, Giving Back had taken a DIY approach to producing their branding and designed materials. This project provided an opportunity for an evaluation of the identity and recommendations on an approach that would suit the Impact Report, but also provide a visual direction for future items.

The Impact Report itself needed to introduce Giving Back to a wide audience and collect together various images, press releases and quotes to showcase their work. The look and feel of the report needed to make a positive impression and be in keeping with the purpose and values of the charity.  

Outcomes.

I began by evaluating the existing brand identity and design assets. Through doing this, I was able to refine the colour palette to ensure contrast met accessibility standards. Typography was also highlighted as an area for improvement, and a typeface recommended that was available on all the platforms that Giving Back used to create their outputs.

Evaluating existing brand assets

As I became more familiar with the ethos and work of Giving Back, I saw an opportunity to develop a set of colourful ‘active shapes’ creating a series of vibrant, friendly graphics to frame and connect photos and page layouts.

Developing a library of ‘active shapes’ and showing how they could be used

The 20-page, saddle stitched A4 report was produced in InDesign and printed locally. A promotional postcard with QR code was also produced to allow a lower, more economical print run of the report. This helped to promote the online version, extending the reach of the report to a wider audience.

The final Impact Report and promotional postcard

Like what you’ve seen?

This was a fun project, helping to showcase the valuable work Giving Back has been doing in the local community and is an example of how good design simply does justice to the value of the content.

Let me know your thoughts on this project, or get in touch if you’re interested in working together.