James Beard Foundation
Report Design
Editorial design for a 30+ page flagship research publication establishing visual standards for JBF’s refreshed brand identity.
Role
Designer
Core Design Team
Just me!
My Impact
30+ page published report
Data visualization
Photography curation
Design system creation
Timeline
2 Weeks
The James Beard Foundation's 2025 Industry Report was their first externally published piece under a refreshed brand identity—a 30+ page, research-driven publication distributed to culinary leaders, press, and stakeholders nationwide in both print and digital formats.
Goal
The goal was to establish a sophisticated editorial system that could carry complex restaurant industry data while setting the visual standard for all future JBF publications.
My Role
I owned end-to-end visual design, partnering with JBF stakeholders and Deloitte researchers to bring the report to life.
Creative Direction & System Design
After a thorough review of JBF's brand guide, I developed multiple creative directions and presented them to stakeholders, ultimately aligning on an approach that balanced modern simplicity with editorial sophistication.
From there, I built a modular layout architecture capable of handling multi-level information hierarchy across 30+ pages—establishing typographic scales, section transitions, and a visual language that could flex across data-heavy spreads and narrative passages alike.
Data Visualization
Working closely with JBF stakeholders and Deloitte's research team, I transformed raw survey findings from 350+ restaurant professionals and interviews with 50+ chefs into clear, compelling charts and infographics.
Impact
The delivered report established the design direction for how JBF's refreshed brand identity extends into long-form communications.
The reusable templates and visual standards I created now serve as the foundation for future publications—giving the organization a scalable design system, not just a one-off deliverable.