Cara Willenbrock

As part of their new strategic plan, this annual report showcased the nonprofit’s five new areas of intended impact. The biggest design challenge was finding artwork for abstract and intangible subjects. I worked across several teams within the organization over a eight month period to pull this report together. For the first time, the Partnership opted not to print an annual report. Instead, the report was distributed on their website and through targeted email marketing. Download the report.

The Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals is an annual black-tie gala which pays tribute to the outstanding public servants in federal jobs. Held in Washington, D.C., at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, this event gave me my first exposure to large scale event design. For the last two years, I've designed everything from the invite and program to the decorations and event space. Additionally, I manage the program's website content and visual elements.

The Partnership for Public Service logo was updated to be modern and fresh. I had the idea to break up the flagged diamond to make it more playful and flexible across all of our materials including digital designs. Since the Partnership is a nonprofit, we were able to cut costs through not bleeding the design off papers and envelopes, while achieving the same effect.

The Partnership for Public Service publishes reports covering a range of issues that concern the federal workforce and government. The reports range in length from 24 to 36 pages and include illustrations, graphics and images. At the beginning of the research process, I work with researchers and writers to focus the design of the report and discuss information graphic possibilities.

Go Government is a federal job-seeker resource for all career levels funded by the Partnership for Public Service. There are essentially two ways that a user can 'find their fit' in government: by career level and career field. My favorite part of this site, is all the real people it will feature who have incredible jobs and careers in the federal government. These people truly make a difference, and this site will showcase their talent in a way that will inspire others to serve.

Site currently under development.

Redesign of the Partnership of Public Service's main website. Website is currently in development.

Client: Department of Energy

This internal ad campaign encouraged federal employees at the Department of Energy (DOE) to participate in the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. My goal was simple: put some lovely, bright colors on the drab walls inside the agency, and show employees that DOE was, in fact, listening to them. One of the challenges of internal government communication can be the out-dated mediums. Without a strong intranet, print and other visuals were the only means to grab employees attention.

Commissioned by Meredith Corporation, Boost magazine is a shelter prototype geared toward homeowners who want to increase the value of their home. I was elected the Art Director by the publishers of the prototype and designed the look and feel of the magazine. I created all the master pages and design guidelines for a team of three designers as well as designed the cover, features and department pages. The magazine was also adapted as an iPad app, which was the very first time the Meredith Corporation had seen a magazine on the iPad. At the time of the project, the iPad had just been released a few months earlier. For the print magazine, I prepared all the files for print production and performed an on-site press inspection.

As the Web and Art Intern, I established the magazine's social media presence through Twitter and Facebook and managed the magazine's online content. Most of my design work was for the web, including slideshows, advertisements and illustrations, but I also designed FOB and BOB pages for the print edition of the magazine.

I designed features and back-of-book pages for the weekly city magazine in Columbia, Mo. Vox Magazine prides itself in covering a wide range of contemporary issues within the mid-sized college town. I had the privilege of serving as the Special Issue Art Director for the most controversial issue of the semester, Religion and Sex. I directed the photo shoot for the cover image, designed the cover, a feature story and back-of-book pages, all while leading a team of designers.

Client: NIAID Influenza Research Collaboration, National Institutes of Health A series of clinical trials were held by the NIAID Influenza Research Collaboration following the outbreak of H1N1. I worked with one of the lead scientists on the trials to develop this national ad campaign. The campaign reached public health clinics and spaces such as student health centers on university campuses, hospitals and medical centers. The campaign was so successful, we expanded its reach through translating the ads into Spanish. The poster designs were adapted for use on patient influenza journals, and registration forms and flyers.

CLIENT: National Institutes of Health Office of AIDS Research

As part of a design team, I provided design and production support for an array conference materials including stationery, event layout and blueprints, attendee bags and name badges, signage and an AIDS quilt.

Part of the challenge with this event, was its location in The Bahamas. Our team had to be creative in finding cost-effective ways to not only produce the materials, but transport them to the islands.