FACT BOOK
Sac State Fact Book:
A Celebration of Excellence and Impact
Overview
The Sacramento State Fact Book is an annual publication showcasing the university’s achievements, accolades, and contributions to the campus community and beyond. From student success stories to national rankings, the Fact Book highlights the vibrancy and excellence of Sac State in a visually compelling and informative way. Over the years, this publication has grown in prominence, evolving from a simple on-campus resource to a tool that extends the university’s story to alumni, donors, and even the steps of the State Capitol.
Each edition features refreshed color palettes, curated photography, and carefully crafted design elements that align with the university’s brand. The Fact Book is not just a reflection of past achievements but a forward-looking testament to Sac State’s mission of transforming lives through education.
2025 and Beyond:
Building on Success
Looking ahead, the systems and visual strategies developed for the Fact Book are now influencing other major projects, including Sac State’s Admissions Viewbook. By leveraging the Fact Book’s iconography, layout structure, and color palettes, I am contributing to a cohesive design language that bridges these publications, ensuring consistency across university communications materials.
The evolution of the Fact Book underscores its impact as a cornerstone of Sacramento State’s brand strategy. With the 2025 edition in progress, my focus is on refining the resource further to meet the university’s growing needs, while continuing to adapt its design and content strategies to align with emerging trends and priorities.
2024 Fact Book:
Refinement and Strategic Growth
The 2024 Fact Book builds on the bold redesign introduced in 2023, refining the organizational structure and visual language. This edition reflects my ongoing efforts to create a resource that is both highly functional and visually compelling.
Highlights of the 2024 Edition:
Further categorical organization of content to enhance readability and user experience.
Expansion of custom iconography to support more complex data visualizations.
Integration of design elements inspired by the Way of the Hornet campaign, ensuring consistency across key university communications.
For the 2024 Fact Book, I extended refinements to the digital and companion components. Social media and billboard assets were revamped to enhance brightness, vibrancy, and visual appeal, ensuring a cohesive and impactful presence across platforms.
The 2024 Fact Book represents a continuation of the series’ growth, further solidifying its role as a central piece of Sacramento State’s communications strategy.
2023 Fact Book:
A Bold/Compact Redesign
The 2023 Fact Book marked a major shift in the series, with a reformatting of the book and the introduction of custom iconography that elevated its overall design. This edition allowed me to fully integrate my design voice into the project, bringing a modern, user-friendly approach to the content.
Key Updates in 2023:
Transitioned to a square saddle-stitched format, providing a fresh layout and contemporary feel.
Introduced a custom set of icons to visually break up complex data and enhance engagement with the infographics.
Introduction of additional infographics to represent demographic data points previously expressed in text.
Refreshed the gallery of photographs, curating images from campus photography assets to fit print, social, and digital formats.
This edition continued to be supported by digital assets, including web graphics and content for campus distribution. Its modernized aesthetic and improved functionality set a new standard for the Fact Book series.
2022 Fact Book:
Extending Reach with New Formats
The 2022 Fact Book expanded the series’ reach with the introduction of advertising at Sacramento International Airport (SMF) and a renewed focus on direct mail distribution. These updates ensured the book was accessible to key audiences such as alumni, donors, and prospective students.
Key Features of the 2022 Edition:
Maintained the compact saddle-stitched format while incorporating refinements to layout and visuals.
Designed large-format column banners for SMF, highlighting key university statistics and accomplishments to a broader audience.
Produced a mail distribution component to deliver the Fact Book directly to alumni and donors, ensuring its reach during a time when in-person engagement remained limited.
Refreshed the gallery of photographs to support the publication’s print and digital applications.
This edition balanced continuity with subtle innovations, providing a seamless transition between the formats of 2021 and the larger redesign that would come in 2023.
2021 Fact Book:
Laying the Foundation
The 2021 Fact Book was my first opportunity to lead the design of this publication. Tasked with continuing my predecessor’s format while modernizing the visual approach, I introduced subtle but impactful updates to enhance the book’s readability and appeal.
Highlights:
Maintained the compact 5x7 saddle-stitched booklet format for accessibility and ease of use.
Introduced image overlaps and gradients to modernize the existing design structure.
Produced custom stickers, inserts, and a mail distribution component to ensure the book reached alumni and donors.
Created digital collateral, including social media graphics, highway billboards, and web support graphics to complement the print materials.
Curated a gallery of campus photographs that extended beyond the printed publication to support digital and social applications.
Despite the challenges of continued remote work and distance learning during the pandemic, this edition laid the groundwork for future innovations, establishing a process for collaboration and ensuring the Fact Book’s continued success.
