Cover of MESC's fiscal year 2024 annual report.
Letter from MESC's Director and Table of Contents.
Annual Report spread showing smaller graphics that demonstrate MESC's mission.
MESC By the Numbers included fast facts and awarded/selected companies grouped by key sector.
More infographic-style data and a project portfolio map.
Last spread in the report using the "workforce training" MESC poster illustration as a background element.
U.S. DOE MESC Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report
Publication Design
The Problem: The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chain's inaugural Annual Report was published just seven months prior to this project's deadline. How can we build upon the previous report without appearing redundant? How can we effectively communicate the lasting impact of MESC’s awards on American Manufacturing? Additionally, given the recent release of the Department of Energy’s new branding, we aim to be one of the first Offices to utilize it in a substantial publication.
The Task: Ensure that MESC's Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report conveys a fresh and representative portrayal of their contributions to the American manufacturing landscape and encourages the audience to explore available funding opportunities.
Solutions: The MESC Communications Team collaborated with departmental content leads to plan ahead for deadlines and align with the final publication objective. I created a mood board incorporating the new DOE brand and elements that were popular throughout the year, such as imagery of workers to emphasize the human aspect of the MESC’s goals. I shared this mood board with the MESC Communications and Leadership teams to provide visual guidance on design elements.
Weekly communication with the MESC Communications Team ensured that we remained on track with content development. Upon reaching a significant milestone in content finalization in early December, I constructed the document’s framework, focusing on elements that remained consistent regardless of content changes, such as the cover, inside covers, and table of contents.
Outcomes: Near the conclusion of this process, DOE-MESC leadership expressed a desire to publish the report online within the next two weeks due to anticipated holiday communications blackout dates and upcoming administration changes. I effectively managed my time and provided daily updates through tag-ups with the Communications Team. The team was satisfied with the design, and I incorporated a buffer period for leadership to review the finalized design, thereby mitigating the risk of last-minute revisions and ensuring that all stakeholders had ample time to proof the document. We successfully met the publication deadline, with fully Section 508 compliant documents for both web and print formats.
My Role:
Branding
Digital design (Social media graphics)
Image color correction
Layout design
Photoshop image manipulation
Pre-production proofing
Print and publication design
Section 508 compliance
Typography and typesetting
My Team:
DOE-MESC Communications Team (Collaborated with MESC department leads for written content, Marketing, Ideation)
DOE-MESC Engagement Team (Approval)
DOE-MESC Front-Office Leadership (Approval)