Most annual reports don’t require decoder glasses.
But in an effort to get people to read their 2015 fiscal summary, the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency partnered with Liquid Creative Studios, a local graphic design company, to create an interactive annual report and project map.
Because the agency is required by Florida statutes to release a list of money spent on projects over the course of the year, the agency decided to design strategies to entice potential readers, said Nathalie McCrate, a CRA project manager. Last year, the report was a comic strip.
“Citizens feel like they can’t relate to it, but our projects are really cool,” she said. “We thought we would do a report that people can connect with.”
Liquid Creative Studios was paid $5,500 to design the report, which interested residents can view online or pick up along with the glasses at the Bo Diddley Community Plaza informational kiosk.
The money and project descriptions — including the $1,684,016 spent on project vendors, many of them local — are hidden behind red polka dots and squiggly lines that disappear when viewed with the glasses.
Hector Del Valle, the creative director at Liquid Creative Studios, said the project was a first for him.
“I’ve never really worked on an interactive print piece before,” he said. “None of us had done anything like this.”
The idea for the map came first as a way to uncover all the projects the Community Redevelopment Agency is working on.
“The glasses go with the theme,” Del Valle said, adding that, for the most part, people have enjoyed the report’s design.
McCrate said the project was intended to get people interested in Gainesville’s local government and the progress of the agency’s many projects, which range from East Gainesville to University Heights.
“People were intrigued by it,” McCrate said. “Kids were putting on the glasses. It’s just a cool way to let people know about projects happening in their backyards.”
She said another motivating factor for the map was to show the progress made on town projects that have been in the works for years.
“Gainesville is working harder to become more citizen-friendly,” she said. “This is just a way to showcase that.”
@mollyidonovan
mdonovan@alligator.org
