Expanding Our Reach in Challenging Times
Client: University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR)
An annual report reflecting on the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic
My role
I managed the production of the 2020-2021 annual report of the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Urban Research, including writing and editing the text, incorporating feedback from the organization’s directors, and managing graphic design consultants.
Challenge
Penn IUR’s operations were upended by Covid-19 in 2020-2021. The annual report needed to communicate the institute’s resilience without sugar-coating the challenges. And, it needed to do that with the buy-in of the institute’s leadership.
Solution
I designed the project to have several opportunities for institute leaders to give direction and feedback, first on the text and later on the layed out publication. Opportunities for input on the first phase included: on the project brief, an outline, the complete first draft of the text, and the revised final draft of the text. For the layout, I asked the graphic design consultants to generate three options (represented in a sample cover page and sample interior spread) on which leaders provided feedback; the designer then incorporated this feedback into a template and graphic language. Subsequent opportunities for input included on the first and final drafts of the layed out report.