The Client
Horizon Investments is an industry recognized goals-based investment management firm based out of Charlotte, NC. Working here as a Sr. Graphic Designer allowed me multiple responsibilities and projects to lead and deliver.
One of the more important aspects of my job was managing and designing Horizon’s Quarterly Report magazine.
This was a multi-step process and involved collaborating with multiple departments to determine the best way to present the data and tell the story to our readers.
The Problem
Designing a financial market review magazine that is both engaging and informative can be a challenging task. We knew it was important to strike a balance between providing useful and relevant information for our readers, while also making the content visually appealing and easy to read.
Ensuring that the content is accurate and up-to-date.
Keeping the content interesting and engaging: Financial information can be dry and technical, so it is important to find ways to make the content more engaging and interesting for readers.
The Solution
After carefully considering the needs and interests of our target audience, we designed a magazine that effectively communicates the financial information while also keeping the reader engaged. Incorporating visual elements like, charts, graphics, and illustrations helped to clarify the more complex concepts.
Grunge band cover art on the front to stand out in a investment firm office.
Clean aesthetic charts plus an organized layout created an easily navigable main story. Working in tandem with up-to-date market analytics helped illustrate the practical applications of our story.
We would regularly meet with the investment teams to make sure our story was still on track with the market.
Not only was our article accurate, relevant and insightful, but our info-graphics were as well.
The Process
Approaching this project began with understanding the CEO's goals and objectives for this quarter’s story. Then, sitting down to research with the investment teams to create and implement different info-graphics that help tell the story. Finally the marketing team sets a plan to achieve our goals and deliver on time.
Understand
Understanding what story we’re trying to tell this quarter.
Research
Conduct research to gather information and ideas for the magazine.Sketch
Sketches to explore and develop ideas for the layout and design of the magazine.Design
Create a polished and professional layout for the magazine.Implement
Use printing or online publishing tools to produce and distribute the magazine.Evaluate
Collecting feedback and analyzing data to identify areas for improvement.
Our small marketing team effectively coordinated with multiple departments to ensure a timely delivery.
Because of this we were able to deliver a high quality magazine before the end of the year holiday rush.
