01 / Publication Design

Hospice House

2020 Annual Report

A 16-page annual report combining mission-driven storytelling, donor and volunteer recognition, resident-care data, and long-form editorial organization into a clear, compassionate publication system.

Client

Hospice House

Year

2020

Format

16-page annual report

Role

Design & Production

02 / Project Overview

An annual report with a lot to say.

The Hospice House annual report brought together leadership messaging, resident and financial information, volunteer impact, staff and board recognition, and a large amount of donor acknowledgement content.

The goal was straightforward: make all of that information clear, approachable and appropriate for an organization whose work is deeply personal.

03 / Interior System

Designing by feel & following the rules.

I tend to work by feel, but there are always rules underneath it –  alignment, spacing, hierarchy, repetition, and knowing when to break the pattern.

As the content changed from page to page, I let the layouts change with it while keeping enough consistency that the report still felt connected. The recognition pages were the real test. There was a lot of information to fit, and it still needed to feel considered rather than simply packed onto the page.

Dense pages still need to feel designed, not merely fitted.

04 / Information Design

Keeping things clean and easy on the eyes.

For publication layout, I generally prefer clean, visible hierarchy, movement, and harmony between the design and the content.

The content here is delicate and dense. I wanted the information to work with the design, be easy on the eyes, and make it as simple as possible to move through each page.

Dense information doesn’t have to make the page feel heavy.

05 / Production

Making the design work on paper.

This was a 16-page annual report printed two-sided on 11 × 17 sheets, then folded to an 8.5 × 11 finished size.

Production is very much part of the design for me. Styles, margins, type and spacing are normally where I start. Making sure the design translates from the screen to the printed piece is one of the most important parts of the process.

Publication Design
InDesign Production
11 x 17 Duplex
8.5 x 11 Finished

06 / Outcome

Holding it all together.

I like projects like this: building a publication design that can hold a lot of information and keep it under control.

Our goal here was to build a system that feels good, presents the information well, and stays behind the content.