World Vision
Designing a business plan for future funds
SECTOR
Nonprofits
Social Change
SERVICES PROVIDED
Information Illustration, Long-format Publication Design, Collateral Design
World Vision is a global, child-focused organization and the leading non-governmental provider of clean drinking water in the developing world. Their WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) Program specifically focuses on ensuring millions of children, families, and communities have access to clean water, dignified sanitation, and healthy hygiene practices.
The Client
We collaborated with Stephanie Zito of Zito and Associates and Jordan Smoke, Senior Director of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), World Vision U.S., to complete an extensive and technical business plan covering the next five years of WASH — and serving as the key driver for securing the $1B in funding needed to meet the plan’s objectives.
The Challenge
What began as a “short”, 40-page project in need of art and design skills grew into an 80-page comprehensive strategic document to outline the next five years of work through the WASH Program. Initially, the project called for a designer to contribute creative skills to the development of the business plan. What became clear from early discussions and research, though, was the realization the document — and the client — needed more.
Ultimately, what the project called for was not only a designer but also:
- A collaborator who could go with the flow of content, since most of it came in last-minute from all over the world and needed to be worked with in real-time
- An infographic rockstar who could take charts and graphs and translate them into design
- A professional who could work under demanding circumstances (this was all during a pandemic, which meant the organization had LOTS of other pressing matters)
Germinate Creative to the rescue!
“Working with Maria at Germinate was a wonderful experience. She listened to our needs and expanded our creative mindset. We worked on a business plan together and it was exciting to see the plan come to life through the colors, and graphics, and layouts that Maria shaped. She really captured the overall tone and experience that we wanted to generate with the document.”
Jordan Smoke
Senior Director of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), World Vision U.S.
The Solution
Here’s where things got interesting. Not only did the project scope grow exponentially, but the deadlines were coming at us fast — and we had to remain flexible and accommodating and supremely creative.
Rather than making basic flow charts and graphs with text, we took it a step further by creating eye-catching graphics with themes. We created a new set of colors within theWorld Vision brand to put a fresh spin on the visuals. Then, we thought about better ways to make this grand presentation more navigable and digestible, adding breadcrumbs and breaking up the text into “nuggets” of information.
The more creativity we brought to the table, the more the client saw it as a solution to the challenge — and they wanted more of it. What was once a plan for a digital PDF document only is now a suite of formats to be used for sales and marketing, including the digital option, a printed document, and two summary brochures that have been translated to French and Spanish, all of which are being used to help the organization secure much-needed investments in the program.
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