I was brought in to assist with engagement efforts and lead final document production for the City of Lake Forest Park’s 2044 Comprehensive Plan Update. After the draft plan was completed, the project team underwent a major transition, leaving me as one of the only remaining original members. I worked with both the previous and new project managers to carry the project through final production and adoption, while also supporting select community engagement efforts along the way. With a large final-document budget and a client looking for something both visually distinctive and highly accessible, the project became an opportunity to rethink how our planning documents could work in Microsoft Word.
Lake Forest Park Comprehensive Plan Update
Role: Lead Graphic Designer
Scope: Publication Design • Visual Systems • Information Design • Accessible Document Design
What I Contributed: Brand Refinement • Word-Based Publication System • Custom Iconography • Section & Cover Design • Data Visualization • Public Engagement Materials
Refining
the Brand
Rather than creating a new identity from scratch, I built the Comprehensive Plan’s visual system around the City of Lake Forest Park’s existing brand. I refined its established color palette for consistency and accessibility, incorporated the City logo throughout the document system, and developed a complementary visual language of custom icons, illustrated elements, image treatments, and typography. The result was a system that felt distinctly Lake Forest Park while giving the plan enough visual structure and flexibility to support a wide range of content.
Engaging Audiences
While final document production was my primary role, I also supported community engagement efforts by designing a series of presentation boards and station materials used to explain the planning process and gather public input. These materials translated topics such as legislative changes, housing, transportation, and future planning priorities into approachable visual experiences using diagrams, maps, custom illustrations, and simplified data visualizations.
Bringing It Together
The final document brought the system together across two volumes and appendices, with custom cover and section-page designs, goal and policy iconography, tables, charts, maps, and supporting graphics built for use in Microsoft Word. The three cover documents were designed as a connected visual composition, while consistent typography, color, and imagery carried the system throughout the plan. The result was a publication that balanced the visual impact the client wanted with the clarity, consistency, and accessibility required of a long-form public document.
