Annual reports for a SEO startup

Problem:
How best to celebrate the company culture of a tech company in a post-pandemic, fully remote work environment? The people and marketing teams came to me looking for a solution! We worked together to develop a theme and copy for the annual report. The idea was to create an artifact that celebrated and reflected on the state of the business in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

These pieces sent a strong message about their company culture to:
• current employees: with the intention to improve employee engagement
• prospective employees: to be used as a recruitment tool
• clients

However, since this remote-first tech company didn't have any up-to-date professional photography of its staff or offices, I had be creative in how I visually expressed the culture, reflected on the state of the business, celebrated the people and their achievements.

Solution:
• Single-handedly designed the full annual report.

• I made the case for illustration to the executive team as a way to visually express our flexible and remote first company culture. Then each year I scouted, hired and art directed an illustrator to illustrate the custom cover and spot illustrations.

• I worked with a local shop (that's been in business since 1946) to print an 80+ page perfect bound book on Mononodock paper.

• It was mailed to all company employees.

"Every year that Gillian designed this book, I kept it on my desk for weeks, drawn in by her designs. Her versatility in what she can create is amazing to me. I can't stress enough how remarkable I found the artifacts she created to support our company culture."
-Content Manager

"I haven't been at long, but it has been long enough to experience the impact of Gillian's design work. As a newbie, I was excited to receive the Culture Book, a bright and people-focused print publication that instantly made me feel like I belonged. The design captured the essence of the company culture and also celebrated the work of artists and designers. It incorporated UX design principles in its layout, making it easy to browse the pages and consume all of the wonderful stories in it."
-Sr. Content Specialist & Sustainability Designer

"I love that it: is bright, happy, colorful, playful. Well done!"
- Jim Stengel, Former Global Marketing Officer, Proctor & Gamble