CDC's Strategic Plan - DOP

For the CDC’s Division of Overdose Prevention (DOP), I supported the design and production of a multi-page Strategic Plan that translates complex public health priorities into a clear, readable, and visually consistent document. The work required strong information hierarchy, accessibility-minded typography, and a modular layout system that could scale across sections while keeping the content easy to scan for leadership, partners, and public health practitioners..

This document combines vision/mission framing, organizational context, engagement criteria, cultural values, and detailed goal/strategy tables into a cohesive narrative. The design balances a professional government publication standard with approachable visual cues—icons, callouts, and structured content blocks—to help readers quickly locate key information and understand how strategies map to priority goals.

Client: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | Division of Overdose Prevention
Role: Publication Design, Layout System, Visual Hierarchy, Document Production, Visual Design, Typography
Tools: Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop (as applicable to production workflows)
Deliverable: Strategic Plan (multi-page), print-ready + digital/PDF distribution format(s)

The primary design objective was to make dense, high-stakes content usable for multiple reader types—executives, program teams, state/local partners, and stakeholders—without losing rigor or detail.

Key communication goals included:

Presenting the vision, mission, and overarching goals in a way that is immediately scannable.
Organizing complex strategies and activities into a repeatable structure across pages.
Supporting readers who need to quickly reference criteria, organizational structure, and guiding principles.
Creating a document system that is consistent, credible, and easy to update over time.

To keep the plan cohesive and navigable, I established a modular system with consistent patterns:

Strong header band + section titling to orient readers at every page.
Goal/strategy templates that repeat predictably (Goal #, Strategy #, sub-items, and supporting bullets).
Information blocks (e.g., “Vision,” “Mission,” “Goals,” “Attributes,” “Engagement Criteria”) styled for quick scanning.
Icon-driven visual cues to reinforce meaning without relying on decorative graphics.

A major portion of the document includes detailed activities mapped to goals and strategies. I focused on:

Clean typographic hierarchy (headline → section → item → supporting bullets).
Generous spacing and alignment so long lists remain readable.
Callouts and sectional dividers that prevent visual fatigue.
Consistent numbering rules so readers can cite and share specific activities easily.

Because this is public health content meant for broad distribution, readability and accessibility were treated as core requirements:

High-contrast text and legible font sizing for long-form reading.
Clear heading levels and predictable layout patterns.
Spacing and line length tuned for comprehension.
Visual emphasis used to support the content (not compete with it).

This strategic plan design delivers a polished, professional publication that strengthens how DOP communicates its priorities:

Improved clarity and navigation across a dense, multi-section document.
A scalable layout system that supports future updates and additional sections.
A credible, consistent visual standard aligned to public health communications.