HAC’s Rural Voices Magazine 2017
In 2017, I had the opportunity to work as a freelance designer and project manager for the Housing Assistance Council’s (HAC) Rural Voices magazine. This particular issue, titled Action for a Rapidly Changing Rural America, highlighted key takeaways and discussions from HAC’s 2016 Rural Housing Conference. The magazine explored critical rural issues such as poverty, creative placemaking, and changing demographics, and I was tasked with creating an engaging, cohesive design to reflect the complex content and ensure accessibility for its diverse audience of rural housing professionals. My role was to design the magazine layout, incorporate intricate visual elements like maps and data, and manage the workflow to ensure timely delivery of each issue.
Client: Housing Assistance Council (HAC)
Industry: Non-Profit, Rural Housing
Role: Freelance Designer, Project Manager
Agency: Salta With Us
Year: 2017
Tools: InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Word, Trello
The Project
The Rural Voices magazine is HAC’s primary vehicle for sharing valuable insights with rural housing professionals, offering a platform to discuss critical rural issues. This 2017 issue, Action for a Rapidly Changing Rural America, was particularly focused on the learning and brainstorming that took place during HAC’s 2016 conference. The issue presented a series of in-depth articles and white papers, including maps and data, addressing key challenges and recommendations related to rural poverty, creative placemaking, and the changing landscape of rural America.
My responsibilities included designing the layout, ensuring the information was visually appealing and easy to digest, while maintaining the integrity of HAC’s brand identity. As the project manager, I also coordinated the design and editorial teams, ensuring smooth communication and timely delivery of the magazine.
Key Challenges
Data Visualization: One of the major challenges of this issue was presenting complex data from the conference, including demographic changes and rural housing trends, in a way that was both visually engaging and easy to understand.
Content Variety: The issue featured a mix of long-form articles, data-heavy reports, and more visually-focused content like maps and conference highlights. The layout had to be flexible enough to handle these diverse content types while maintaining cohesion.
Managing Workflow: As the project manager, it was crucial to ensure that all the moving parts of the project came together on time. This required close coordination with writers, editors, and designers to meet deadlines.
Design Strategy & Solutions
Magazine Layout & Structure
I created a clean, modular layout that allowed flexibility for the different types of content, ensuring the magazine felt cohesive despite the variety of article formats.
Grid System: I established a structured grid to ensure consistency in layout across all pages, making it easy to incorporate text, images, and graphics. This helped balance the complexity of the content with the need for clarity.
Typography & Hierarchy: I chose typography that was professional yet accessible. I focused on creating a visual hierarchy with clear distinctions between headlines, subheadings, and body text, guiding readers through the magazine effortlessly.
Visual Elements & Imagery
Given the mix of content, my design strategy focused heavily on effective visual storytelling, using images and graphics to complement the editorial narrative.
Maps & Data Visualization: One of the most critical visual elements was the set of maps from the conference presentation. I carefully treated these maps to ensure they were visually impactful and easy to understand, making complex demographic information accessible to the audience.
Custom Graphics: To complement the articles, I designed infographics that helped explain complex topics like poverty and housing trends in rural America, creating visually compelling visuals to aid understanding.
Brand Alignment
I adhered to HAC’s established branding, utilizing their color palette, logo, and typography to ensure that the magazine stayed true to their visual identity. However, I also injected some freshness into the design to keep it engaging and modern.
Project Management
I utilized Trello to track tasks, timelines, and deliverables. This helped keep the team on schedule and ensured that all components of the project were delivered on time. I coordinated with writers, designers, and editors to make sure the magazine was delivered on deadline, maintaining high-quality standards throughout the process.
Conclusion
The 2017 Rural Voices magazine was a successful collaboration between the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) and the creative team at Salta With Us. By utilizing a flexible yet structured layout, effective data visualization, and consistent brand alignment, I was able to craft a design that enhanced the magazine’s ability to communicate complex rural housing issues in an accessible and engaging way. Managing the workflow and coordinating between various stakeholders ensured that the project was completed on time and met the client’s expectations. Ultimately, the magazine not only served as an informative resource for rural housing professionals but also reflected HAC’s commitment to empowering communities with the knowledge and tools needed to address pressing housing challenges.