When Allegheny County Economic Development (ACED) set out to create its 2024–2025 Annual Report, the goal wasn’t just to document activity—it was to make impact visible.

ACED serves as the County’s primary engine for deploying federal, state, and local resources to strengthen communities, support businesses, and drive long-term economic growth. From housing and infrastructure to business development and planning, their work touches all 130 municipalities across the region. But with that breadth comes complexity. That’s where we came in.

From the outset, our partnership with the ACED team was grounded in a shared objective: take a dense, data-rich story and make it accessible, engaging, and easy to understand at a glance.

There was alignment early on around what the report needed to do. It had to promote Allegheny County as a place of real momentum and opportunity, while also reinforcing transparency—showing clearly how public resources are being invested and what those investments deliver. At the same time, it needed to feel simple. Not simplified, but structured in a way that anyone—resident, business leader, or policymaker—could move through it quickly and come away with a clear understanding.

That audience mix shaped everything. Residents needed to see how their communities were changing. Business leaders needed to understand the region’s viability and direction. Government stakeholders needed clarity, accountability, and proof of outcomes. The report had to speak to all three—without feeling fragmented or overly technical.

The creative approach was intentionally restrained and purposeful. We focused on building a visual system that felt modern and forward-looking, but never decorative. Every design decision was in service of comprehension.

Information was structured to be absorbed quickly—at a glance first, with the option to go deeper. Data-heavy sections were organized into clear, repeatable patterns. Narrative moments were given space to breathe. The balance between numbers and story became critical: the data establishes credibility, but the design makes it usable.

From the bold, color-driven cover to the modular “By the Numbers” spreads and clean, segmented layouts, the system leads the reader effortlessly—bringing clarity to complexity.