Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research Impact Report
For the last several years, Opus has created the annual report design for the Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research. The Tan-Yang Center was established at the McGovern Institute in 2017 to catalyze revolutionary new research approaches and potential treatments for individuals affected by autism.
InfographicsFramework GraphicsIconographyIllustration
Reports & PublicationsAnnual Report DesignResearch Reports
IndustryEducationNonprofit
Designe-publicationVisually engaging and celebratory
Annual reports offer the opportunity to communicate an organization’s goals, achievements, and gratitude to their key audiences in a visually engaging and celebratory manner. We worked with our client to identify the primary audience and discussed the most valuable content to share with those readers. The report focuses on the research, the people, and the publications and media which showcase the impact of the Center.
The next question is how to convey all of this information in a way that is accessible, visual, and memorable. We designed a graphic motif that is used in different ways across the annual report design. The Tan-Yang logo, which is a shape made of lines and filled elements that look like a folded object gently “unfolding,” inspired the graphic. We used a slightly different approach for each chapter, along with different pop colors, to make each section distinct.
Illustration in place of photography
In 2020, when the world shifted to remote working, it was a challenge for clients to obtain new photography. There were plenty of zoom screen shots, but certainly no onsite photos or people working together in person. With this challenge in mind, we worked with the client on a solution: instead of photographing the lead researchers, we created illustrations of each person. We presented a few options to the client to determine a style that worked and felt on-brand for the Center and this piece, and then created their individual likeness in Illustrator. The end result was a modern, polished, unified look for each scientist, which served as the visual highlight for the final piece.
