+ Marin's Electrification Roadmap
Client
Sustainability Team
(Community Development Agency, County of Marin)
Timeline
June 2022 – September 2024
Brief
Create a countywide electrification plan that lays out suggested actions and policies that can serve as a blueprint for other cities and jurisdictions to model and adopt.
My role
My involvement was very hands-on on the side of communications, media and tech support, and developing design deliverables for outreach and education, including the final published Electrification Roadmap plan.
- Graphic design
- Illustration
- Web design
- Communications
- Support
Tools
+ The Process
Community workshops
Much of the development of the Electrification Roadmap was a collaborative effort. Through a series of workshops, we engaged with constituents of the electrification efforts, climate advocates, advocates from community groups (such as the Multicultural Center of Marin, Canal Alliance, etc.), professionals in the building space, and members of the public. Initial workshops were more educational while later workshops involved deeper engagement with participants for feedback.
The in-person workshops had a unique format with a “global cafe” style opening with featured topics for participants to engage in informal conversations. In preparation for each workshop, my role encompassed collaborating with selected individuals who were in charge of facilitating each “global cafe” station – colleagues and jurisdictional sustainability coordinators and partners. This involved:
- Coordinating on graphics and content (questions) provided by station masters
- Designing the posters for visibility and ensuring layout has enough space for questions to allow for engagement using sticky notes
- Coordinating printing of the posters on the large plotter printer
A couple “Global Cafe” plotter posters covered by filled-in sticky notes.
The “global cafe” format was a hit with participants who enjoyed the opportunity to interact with other participants in a less formal environment. Conversations that developed during this session sparked ideas and discussions that were further explored in the second half of the workshops, where participants broke out into several groups and with facilitation, ideated and discussed on proposed measurements and policies. Advocates from community groups were able to bring in their knowledge and experience on the impacts of specific proposed policies on community groups. Through these workshops participants ideated on actions, and steps and timelines for implementation, which were later expanded upon in the final roadmap plan. I supported the running of these workshops with setup, tech assistance, and note taking.
While the Roadmap plan was already in development by the Sustainability Team, these workshops provided further input that was utilized in refining and prioritizing proposed key actions for the plan.
Outreach + distribution
After developing a draft version of the Roadmap plan, we ran a survey that I created in Microsoft Forms to get feedback on the suggested key actions as well as any general comments from both constituents and members of the public. Survey questions ranged from single-choice questions to ratings and comments.
Social media kit
Under direction and collaboration on language to communicate, I created social media posts for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (now known as X), and email to solicit public feedback on the draft of the roadmap document. We developed a media kit that contained shareable links to social media posts, downloadable graphics, and suggested copy for our distribution partners to use in their social media and emails.
The kit’s materials were available in English and Spanish for broader reach to Marin’s Spanish-speaking communities.
I also coordinated email outreach with the County’s Board of Supervisors aides, advocates, and jurisdictional partners on distributing the survey to different groups.
Feedback survey
The survey was open for a few weeks. We received 385 responses, which we captured the data through the data tools available in Microsoft forms. Later, we published the survey results to make them available to the public for transparency.
Document design approach
Branding, colors, and typography followed County of Marin standards. The main audience for this document were jurisdictional partners and climate advocates, but also with the final document being made available to the general public, I knew I wanted the final product to be friendly and digestible to someone who didn’t necessarily have the technical knowledge and expertise of sustainability professionals.
Covers
I designed the Roadmap’s cover and interior section covers with the theme of a “blueprint”. I created line-drawing style illustrations based on Marin’s diverse suburban landscape and residential building styles. These were set on the County’s main blue for a literal interpretation of a “blueprint.” The color blue evokes stability and trust and is also not the stereotypical green that is often associated with sustainability and “going green.”
Main interior graphics were hand drawn in Illustrator and Photoshop. I used bold colors and simple shapes to create different components for a fun, friendly, and accessible style.
Mount Tamalpais: the key symbol of resilience
The Electrification Roadmap illustrated artwork features a road winding to the peak of Mount Tam, with stop points along the way. The legend defines the ten suggested actions which were labeled “A” through “J” to indicate that there is no particular suggested order to implementation.
Initial vector sketches created in Adobe Illustrator of Mount Tam with using multiple shades of blue to indicate different stages of the journey to complete electrification.
Mount Tam is a very visible and highly recognizable symbol of Marin and its celebrated natural landscape. For the main Roadmap graphic, the team wanted to show that the roadmap is a journey with marker points, like bus stops along a road to indicate each of the proposed actions. I reused the concept of rolling hills to create a Mount Tam in different shades of blue, eventually leading to the peak to symbolize reaching the goal of reaching electrification.
Project deliverables
I created a landing page to house the Roadmap and supplemental resources. Icons on the webpages also used the color blue for branding consistency. The final Electrification Roadmap plan was published on County of Marin’s website on September 5, 2025.
Additional artwork
The Sustainability Team has a physical “dollhouse” that is often displayed at events to show members of the public a live example of what electrical upgrades a family home can invest in. This flat illustration of a house shows potential electrical upgrades, with short descriptions to explain benefits. For this illustration, I chose to keep the fun and accessible style similar to the Roadmap and Building & Equity Analysis infographic.
Gantt charts were designed to illustrate the implementation of the ten suggested actions and their subtasks between calendar year 2024 (Quarter 3) and calendar year 2031 (Quarter 4).
Illustrated infographic flyer featuring data statistics for Marin’s residential building inventory and equity analysis. Again, Mount Tam in the background, the rolling Marin landscape with business and residential buildings, and an electric vehicle on the road continue the themes and colors of the Roadmap.
+ Reflections and key take-aways
This particular campaign project spanned several years and involved many, including fellow Sustainability Team members, County of Marin colleagues, jurisdictional partners (local Sustainability coordinators), advocates in the climate space and various community groups. Developing climate resilience for the broader communities of Marin requires nuance, and it’s important to keep equity at the forefront of these conversations. I was proud to be part of a project that will positively impact the county on its sustainability efforts and goals to reach community resilience.