Backstory: The McLean Community Center (MCC) regularly mails a 60-ish page program guide to the residents of its Tax District. I am the only designer the Center has, so it is my responsibility to organize, compile, and lay out every single issue. My first ever issue was Winter-Spring 2019, so the Winter-Spring 2020 Guide was the culmination of a year's worth of tightening my designs and learning from my mistakes.

Impact: According to internal research, the Center gets at least 50% or more of its business through this printed guide. Although all of the Spring classes and events were eventually cancelled, the Center still saw a boost in enrollment.

Benefit to Constituents: Our constituents live right outside DC, and therefore have plenty of choice when it comes to events, classes and shows. My guide benefits our patrons by informing them of all the (mostly free) entertainment that can be found in their own backyard. While most program guides are printed in black and white and on newsprint, ours is colorful, full of photos, and thoughtfully designed.

Benefit to the Organization: The organization saw boosted enrollment and attendance to many of its events before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

Method: It is never easy to make a cohesive guide that includes every single one of MCC's various organizations. Our community center is home to a theater, a teen center, an art gallery, and more. Additionally, each of these branches have their own identity and branding. It is my job to compile all of the images and information provided and present it in a connected, easy-to-read format. To further complicate things, I don't always have access to high-resolution assets, forcing me to be creative in my layouts (like the cover mosaic). I feel that I have exceeded expectations through a combination of my own original artwork and photos and some helpful backup from Adobe Stock. I prefer to lay out my pages in Illustrator and then bring them into InDesign later.

See the entire publication below: