National Geographic School Publishing’s REACH is a standards-based K–5 ESL Language Arts program that was developed for the 2010 round of state adoptions. My agency oversaw and implemented the design and production of the grade 5 (level F) 692 page student edition. In addition, we were asked by the client to “pitch-in” and alleviate workflow bottlenecks in some of the other grades. By the end of the project my agency had completed the entire grade 5 book, three units from grades 1 and 4 and two large ancillary “big books”.

 

The primary visual and design goal to working on a text book is maintaining a consistent and cohesive “look and feel” to all the pages of the book and across the other grades of the program while keeping the design always fresh and exciting. In a language arts program, this is especially challenging as it is also necessary to create designs that are grade appropriate and represent the character of the literature being presented. In addition to the design goals, other challenges included project management, vendor relations, creative and art direction, photo/art research, illustration concepting, and extensive Photoshop prepress work, all while under extremely tight deadlines and budgetary constraints.

 

My agency utilized established templates, predictable patterns in design composition, strategically planned color palette transitions, and well thought out pacing throughout the books to create a visually stunning text book that would engage students and immerse them in the proper learning environment. 

 

The program was adopted by the State of Texas, CA, and the Boston school system.