Red Deer's Vital Signs 2008

Red Deer's Vital Signs 2008

Red Deer's 2008 Vital Signs report is, in essence, a culmination of data and statistics from various sources (from local to provincial to national). Once this information is compiled, the Red Deer & District Community Foundation asks its residents to grade Red Deer, comparing it on a provincial and a national level and adding into the mix: qualitative data.

This wasn't totally a new project to us, as we worked with the RDDCF last year on the 2007 Vital Signs report. Last year our report was used nationally as an example of how to present the findings. Essentially, we were setting the bar for future reports across the country, as well as our own, meaning the bar was set pretty high for us. We set about creating a fresh design and improving upon our work from last year, and making this year's Vital Signs about connecting people. Part of our challenge in that was presenting statistics in an interesting and engaging way that cause people to feel connected, to the city and to each other.

Our approach started with image consideration. Images not only set the tone for each section, but they serve as the touchstone for Red Deer's citizens. The images we chose were all taken in the Red Deer area, most being recognizably Red Deer-ian.

To ensure the connection-building doesn't end with the way we handled the images (ie. people actually READ the report), we also placed importance on legibility of type. To draw the reader into the statistics and the issues, we used pull-out quotes taken directly from the survey results. This also helped establish the human connection in the report: instead of dry statistics and numbers, we highlighted actual responses from real people.

One last aspect to the project was creating a newspaper insert for the Vital Signs launch (published in the Red Deer Advocate). Newspaper design is very different from a report layout and many factors were taken into consideration in creating the 4 page insert. There was alot of content that needed to be in this version, so images were eliminated from all but the first page, above the fold. We needed a way to separate the sections while keeping with the themes of the original report, hence the coloured "borders."

Overall, we're pleased with the results and we're thrilled with the reception of the report. From board members of the RDDCF to the Mayor of Red Deer, they all had super things to say about the report (and consequently, us).