I was hired by UN-ESCWA (The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia), to design their 2018 Annual Report and alter the rigid look & feel of their usual reports to reach the general audience and raise their interest. ESCWA team wanted a layout that communicates beyond numbers and rigid business language, to be inspirational and enjoyable.

The theme of 2018 was "Technology for Development", so I started with the many options for the cover that served as a moodboard to get feedback and fine-tune the style close to what ESCWA team wanted. We agreed on the cover with the bold name interlaced with binary code which actually translates "Annual Report 2018".

I chose a dark background to most pages of the report, which gave it depth and distancing from the usual association to white paper, and I brightened it by the colors selected from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that serve as a blueprint to ESCWA's work.

The theme was developed through the design language with thin lines, blocks of vivid colors, enlarged charts that were represented in previous reports as small thumbnails. They were put center-stage to make them a joy the look at. I also integrated some concepts from the digital realm like the thin, wired-like Organizational Chart, and even to the swipe-like style of screens in the Financial Information.

More negative space was abundant throughout the pages to create a dynamic flow throughout the report to give the eyes some rest after some graphically-loaded pages.

The images were taken from a recent ESCWA photography competition and I chose to enlarge them to show their detail.

I hope you enjoy it.

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