Tackling hunger with responsive communication design
As food banks across British Columbia experienced a surge in demand, iilo acted as Food Banks BC’s out-of-house, in-house design team, fulfilling various communication design needs in the pursuit of a hunger-free BC.
Communication design challenge
Food Banks BC (FBBC) is a provincial association comprising over 100 hunger relief agencies throughout BC. It supports members by sharing resources, distributing donations, providing training and networking opportunities, as well as giving voice to food insecurity challenges faced by British Columbians.
Food insecurity in BC has risen significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic. It has become more important than ever for FBBC to communicate hunger trends, along with its members’ impact, to policymakers, donors, and the general public. Building on past collaborations, iilo wrote and designed FBBC’s 2023-2024 Impact Report, which highlighted the state of hunger in BC, while also celebrating the organization’s growing influence and multi-faceted solutions to tackle food insecurity.
In addition, we designed the inaugural Hunger Report 2024 to support FBBC’s advocacy efforts. This report presented data on people visiting BC food banks and delved into the implications of food insecurity. By showcasing robust research on the key drivers of poverty and food insecurity in BC, the report is a vital document to inform government policies addressing the root causes of hunger.
Both the Impact Report and Hunger Report featured infographics, diverse storytelling, and custom webpages, making complex data more accessible across various formats. Given FBBC’s commitment to inclusion, we prioritized digital accessibility through intentional design choices such as expanding the organization’s colour palette to enhance contrast for better readability.
FBBC also hosted its 2024 bi-annual member conference and annual general meeting in Prince George. iilo elevated the experience by helping to develop the event theme, “Nourishing Change Together.” Building on FBBC’s graphic standards, which we also helped to refine, we created assets such as the event program, on-site signage, name tag templates, sponsorship packages, and graphics for its registration website and digital communications.
The timing of these projects aligned with several internal initiatives at FBBC, including a mission update and website refresh. iilo came on board as a creative partner mid-way through, and we were happy to immediately help with existing projects. We continued to evolve designs and document updates so FBBC’s in-house team could gain the most value from our collaboration.
Outcomes
Thanks to our ongoing relationship, iilo was able to maintain flexibility and offer communication design expertise as new needs emerged. From developing professional reports for high-level decision-makers to creating conference materials that would engage members, we provided support where FBBC needed us the most.
We served as a reliable partner and kept FBBC’s long-term interests in mind. On every project, we refined its brand, shared templates, and developed detailed guidelines to enable consistency for the FBBC team. It’s been a rewarding experience to collaborate in such a well-rounded manner and pivot as needed to support FBBC’s important mission!
Our impact
“Working with iilo has been an absolute pleasure. Their creativity, professionalism, and collaborative approach make them a great partner. They not only bring our vision to life but also offer fresh, innovative ideas that elevate our projects. Their ability to listen, adapt, and contribute valuable insights has made our collaboration seamless and inspiring. We truly appreciate their dedication and look forward to many more projects together!”
