More than a report—it’s a living story of girl power and collective action.

Girls First Fund supports community-based organizations working to end child, early, and forced marriage. Their 2023 annual report wasn’t just a summary of funding and outcomes—it was a celebration of local leadership, girl-centered solutions, and transformative solidarity across the globe.

We were invited to design the report in a way that reflects these values. The brief was clear: create a visual language that centers girls, honors communities, and communicates both impact and intention with warmth and clarity.

• Center girls as agents of change, not passive recipients.
  
• Build a visual identity that is accessible, welcoming, and multilingual.
  
• Use design to connect stories and statistics into a cohesive narrative.
  
• Ensure the report feels inviting and human, rather than corporate or institutional.

1. Grounded in Locality and Leadership

The Girls First Fund works in diverse contexts—from Uganda to the Dominican Republic. We rooted the design in local textures and materials—drawing inspiration from:


• Handwoven textiles
  
• Rural landscapes and market scenes
  
• Handmade signage and community murals


These elements were subtly integrated into section headers, background textures, and iconography throughout the report.

2. Centering Real Stories

The report highlights girl leaders, grassroots organizations, and community educators. We created custom layouts to:


• Feature direct quotes prominently.
  
• Pair stories with visual elements like illustrations, maps, and photo-driven collages.
  
• Allow for breathing space between data-heavy sections and personal narratives.

This rhythm created a reader journey that mirrors the Fund’s philosophy: moving between scale and story, numbers and nuance.


3. Color and Composition

Color palette: Bright and warm—sunset oranges, ochres, soft purples, and earth greens.
Typography: Clean sans-serifs with humanist forms, optimized for digital readability.
Icons & Charts: Custom-drawn with rounded corners and handcrafted textures to avoid a tech/corporate feel.

The report was designed to be:

• Fully screen-reader compatible
  
• Optimized for digital viewing with clear navigation
  
• Available in multiple languages, with layout flexibility for translation


We also kept text sizes and contrast standards in line with accessibility guidelines for long-form documents.

• Letter from the Executive Director: Framed as a warm welcome, set against a backdrop of abstract foliage inspired by growth and rootedness.
• Grantmaking Overview: Illustrated maps and infographics showing reach across countries and thematic focuses.

  
• Spotlight Stories: Pull-quotes, sidebars, and girl-centered photos used to amplify grassroots voices.

  
• Financials: Designed to be transparent and approachable, using simplified visualizations.

  
• Learning & Impact: Featuring circular and spiral layouts to emphasize iterative, non-linear progress.


• The final report was praised for being both informative and emotionally resonant.
  
• Stakeholders shared that the design “felt like the girls were speaking directly to us.”
  
• The use of localized, non-corporate aesthetics inspired other donor reports to consider more human-centered formats.

Designing the Girls First Fund Annual Report was an opportunity to reimagine what an accountability document can be: not just a record, but a relational artifact. Our design sought to carry the voices of the girls and communities at the heart of this work—confident, grounded, and full of possibility.