Communicating Progress & Value Through Visual Storytelling
Graham Packaging is a leading plastic packaging manufacturer. They help global customers match their products with innovative, sustainable plastic packing solutions. Graham’s annual sustainability report helps to communicate their commitment and progress toward long-term goals, including increasing the use of recycled materials, embracing sustainable manufacturing practices and promoting good recycling habits.
Challenge
In the fifth year of its 70-page Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, Graham Packaging felt a fresh perspective was needed to keep the annual report engaging. They wanted each year’s content and styling to feel distinctive. Ensuring the design doesn’t feel repetitive can be a challenge when the report’s overarching topics stay the same each year. They needed a partner who could take their report’s creativity and content to new heights.
Solution
JPL got started by leading discovery sessions with Graham’s sustainability leaders and subject matter experts. Our solution was to narrow into what was new over the prior year and where opportunities existed to improve how that information was presented visually before. We quickly collaborated with the Graham team on roughing out a selection of initial concepts that showed where we felt we could push the brand visually. This helped us gain creative alignment before working the report too far. After interviewing subject matter experts, we wrote their content and built the new year’s sustainability story using bold imagery, graphics and text to convey key takeaways quickly, keep the reader turning pages and evoke emotion. By using visual storytelling techniques to inform and inspire, we helped Graham elevate the report’s design and drive business impact. We also made it a great experience for the Graham team, who are returning to JPL for the 2023 report design.