I took over visual design for the City of Port Townsend’s 2045 Planning Initiatives, including the Comprehensive Plan Update, Active Transportation Plan, and Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Plan, midway through the community engagement process. Building on work established by another designer, I developed a visual direction of my own while preserving the imagery and tone already introduced. The challenge was creating a system flexible enough to support a long and varied planning process without losing that visual continuity. Working closely with the client—particularly throughout the PROS Plan—I developed engagement materials, information graphics, illustrations, layouts, and publication systems that carried the project from public outreach through its final planning documents.
Port Townsend 2045 Planning Initiatives
Role: Graphic Designer — Lead on PROS Plan
Scope: Branding • Public Engagement • Publication Design • Information Design
What I Contributed: Brand Refinement • Engagement Campaigns • Interactive Boards • Surveys & Outreach Materials • Report Templates • Accessible Document Design
Refining
the Brand
Taking over an established project meant finding a balance between continuity and evolution. I carried forward the visual imagery introduced early in the process while developing new graphic elements, including a recurring three-color bar motif that connected materials across the project while allowing individual initiatives to retain their own character. Building on the client's existing color palettes and the primary colors established early in the project, I developed two distinct visual identities for the Comprehensive and PROS Plans, leaning into blues for the Comprehensive Plan and greens for the PROS Plan.
Engaging Audiences
Public engagement was at the heart of the project, with materials ranging from workshops and pop-up events to surveys, interactive boards, and youth-focused activities. I designed a broad range of materials that translated planning questions into approachable, visually engaging experiences—from playful “How Do You Like to Play?” activities to maps, priority exercises, and informational displays. The goal was not simply to make the materials visually consistent, but to make them inviting and easy to participate in, adapting the visual approach to different audiences, settings, and types of interaction.
Bringing It Together
The visual system ultimately extended into the planning documents themselves, where I worked closely with the client to translate a large amount of technical and community-driven information into clear, cohesive publications. I designed layouts, section treatments, maps, tables, infographics, and supporting graphics for both the Comprehensive Plan and PROS Plan, maintaining continuity with the engagement materials while giving each document its own visual rhythm. The result was a connected family of materials that carried the project from its early engagement efforts through its final published plans.
