CIFAR Annual Report 2019
Brand Evolution | Editorial Strategy | Creative Direction | Publication Design
CIFAR’s annual report is a key organizational publication shared with its Board, the Government of Canada and other stakeholders, providing an overview of the organization’s activities and impact over the previous year.
The 2018–2019 report came at a point of change for CIFAR’s Communications team and presented an opportunity to do more than document the year. It became a platform for evolving how the organization presented its work and its brand.
Editorial & Creative Approach
I worked closely with the editorial team from the outset, establishing content flow and production timelines and considering how a new approach to organizing CIFAR’s activities could be reflected in the publication.
I reviewed previous CIFAR reports and publications from comparable organizations and developed a new visual direction that would make the report more engaging, accessible and representative of the people behind CIFAR’s research.
Photography became central to the storytelling, shifting the focus toward CIFAR’s researchers and community. I sourced imagery from across the year and paired it with content and organizational data to create a stronger connection between CIFAR’s activities and their impact.
Evolving the CIFAR Brand
The report also became an opportunity to expand CIFAR’s visual language.
I developed an extended colour palette to complement CIFAR’s established red and presented the proposed direction to the Communications team for review and approval. I also reconsidered the report’s physical format, creating a more practical publication for distribution while establishing a more contemporary editorial experience.
The resulting design introduced photography, a broader colour system and a more people-focused approach that would influence CIFAR’s visual communications beyond the report itself.
The Result
The 2018–2019 Annual Report helped establish a new creative direction for CIFAR and expanded the visual tools available to the Communications team for future work.
The report received an IABC Ovation Award of Excellence, recognizing the strength of the final publication.
My Role
Editorial collaboration
Creative direction
Brand development
Visual storytelling
Photography selection and art direction
Publication design
Information and data visualization
Print production
