Lead Designer for Con Edison’s 2025 Sustainability Report
Transforming complex environmental, operational, and governance data into a clear, engaging, and accessible editorial experience.
Designed for executives, investors, employees, and community stakeholders, the publication translates complex sustainability and infrastructure information into a compelling visual narrative. Through strategic storytelling, thoughtful information hierarchy, and a cohesive editorial system, the report communicates Con Edison’s progress toward a cleaner, more resilient energy future while supporting transparency and alignment with New York State’s climate goals.
The project required balancing technical data, executive priorities, stakeholder expectations, and brand consistency to create a highly visible corporate publication that informs, engages, and builds trust.
Project Details
Client: Con Edison
Project: 2025 Sustainability Report
Duration: April 2025 – July 2025
Role: Lead Designer
Deliverables: Editorial Design, Art Direction, Data Visualization, Executive Presentations, Print & Digital Publication Assets
Tools: Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Firefly
Research & Creative Strategy
The project began with an in-depth review of leading sustainability, ESG, annual, and corporate responsibility reports from utility, energy, financial, and Fortune 500 organizations. This research uncovered best practices in editorial design, data visualization, accessibility, and information hierarchy, providing the foundation for the report's overall structure and storytelling approach.
To establish the creative direction, I developed a vision board using Adobe Firefly alongside curated references from sustainability, infrastructure, architecture, and environmental design. This process defined the visual language, including photography, color, typography, iconography, and infographic styles, while giving stakeholders a shared creative vision throughout the project.
Design Approach & Execution
The design strategy focused on transforming complex sustainability and infrastructure data into a clear, engaging, and credible visual narrative. Through a modern editorial system, thoughtful information hierarchy, custom infographics, and impactful photography, the report presents critical information in an accessible way while reinforcing Con Edison's commitment to reliability, resiliency, clean energy, and New York’s future.
AI-Enhanced Design Process
Developed a custom Microsoft Copilot agent trained to support sustainability report development. The workflow helped analyze content structure, identify opportunities for callouts and timelines, recommend visual storytelling approaches, and improve consistency across a 100+ page publication.
Project Management & Collaboration
Working closely with my manager, the Design Director, I developed and managed a three-month production roadmap covering concept development, design execution, stakeholder reviews, legal approvals, executive feedback, final proofreading, and publication. From April through July 2025, I coordinated timelines, deliverables, and review cycles to keep a large cross-functional team aligned and ensure the project stayed on track.
The project involved collaboration across Strategic Planning, Legal, copywriting, executive leadership, and photography teams. I facilitated communication, coordinated feedback, and managed approvals to ensure the final report met creative, brand, and regulatory requirements.
Design Solution & Impact
The report was designed to make complex sustainability, infrastructure, and governance information easy to navigate and understand. A color-coded system organized content around Con Edison's three strategic pillars, creating a cohesive visual experience across more than 100 pages.
Through modern editorial layouts, custom infographics, strong visual hierarchy, and impactful photography, the publication makes technical information accessible to investors and stakeholders. The final report supports transparency, highlights ESG progress and clean energy investments, and communicates Con Edison's long-term commitment to building a resilient, reliable, and sustainable energy future.
Design Challenge & Solution
Challenge
Con Edison’s Sustainability Report communicates complex environmental, operational, and governance information across more than 100 pages. The challenge was creating a clear visual system that could help readers navigate dense content while maintaining alignment with the company’s brand identity.
Design Solution
I developed a three-color editorial system using secondary colors from Con Edison’s brand palette to represent the report’s three core mission themes: Clean Energy & the Environment, Our Culture, and Our Governance. Each theme received a distinct color identity, creating visual separation between sections while reinforcing the company’s broader sustainability goals.
This system was applied throughout the publication to guide navigation, strengthen information hierarchy, and create a cohesive reading experience across editorial layouts, data visualizations, and supporting graphics.
Result
The final design transformed complex sustainability reporting into an accessible and engaging visual narrative, allowing investors and stakeholders to quickly identify key topics while creating a consistent and recognizable framework throughout the report.
Designing a report of this scale required balancing data, narrative, regulation, and stakeholder expectations into a single cohesive experience. The result is a publication that communicates Con Edison's commitment to sustainability, resiliency, operational excellence, and New York's clean-energy future.
