Project Summary
Making Waves Education Foundation is a Bay Area nonprofit committed to closing opportunity gaps through academic coaching, financial literacy, and career support for students from middle school through college. Its charter school, Making Waves Academy, prepares students for success in higher education and beyond.
With such a wide mission spanning both the Foundation and the Academy, Making Waves needed expert design support to communicate their impact clearly and consistently—starting with two separate annual reports: one for the Foundation and one for the Academy. Each report needed to reflect its unique programs while still feeling aligned under the same mission and visual identity.
Making Waves already had the essentials: a strong mission, powerful stories, and meaningful results. But they still needed a cohesive design approach that:
- Engaged donors, families, and students
- Maintained a unified look across both reports
- Elevated impact data and student voices
We partnered with Making Waves to design two annual reports—one for the Foundation and one for the Academy—that didn’t just summarize the year, but showcased the full arc of their impact with clarity, heart, and forward momentum.
What we delivered:
Two Story-Forward Annual Reports
Polished, cohesive reports that elevated student voices and highlighted each organization’s unique contributions to long-term student success.
Impact Data Visualization
Clear, accessible charts and graphics that helped donors quickly understand outcomes across programs, grade levels, and pathways.
Student-Centered Layouts
Design choices that made real student stories and lived experiences central.
Mission-Aligned Visual Identity
A unified look and feel that reflected the energy, warmth, and ambition behind Making Waves’ commitment to equity and opportunity.
Print + Digital Flexibility
Reports optimized for both print and digital sharing, making it easy for students, families, and supporters to engage with the content anywhere.
Promotional Assets for Social + Email
A set of on-brand graphics and copy-ready layouts to help their team share report highlights across social media and email, extending the life and reach of the report.
Repurposed One-Pager
A condensed, donor-ready one-pager that explained their model and accomplishments from the report into a quick, compelling takeaway.
.png)
