What I Am Showcasing

My ability to take a complex technical brief from a consulting team and translate it into a clear, client-ready story — the kind that makes the argument obvious and the engagement worth signing.

Pursuit Design · Utility Client

Grid Under
Pressure

The Scenario

AI is driving a data center construction boom across the US. A single facility can draw up to 1,000 megawatts — enough to power a mid-sized city. Utilities are being asked to absorb that demand faster than their grid was built to handle.

My Role
A technical consulting team provided the brief — the data, system diagrams, and recommendations. My job was to translate that input into a presentation package a utility executive team could act on.
My Approach
I identified the visual form that best communicates each section of the argument, then built 6 slides — each a distinct format from the 1898 & Co. pursuit design toolkit: architecture diagram, timeline, process flow, and strategic roadmap.
Source
1 Technical Brief
Deliverables
6 Slides
Audience
Utility Executives
Generative AI tools used throughout: technical research, content structuring, ideation, and copy refinement — accelerating workflow without replacing design judgment.
Panel A  ·  01 of 03

What I Was Handed

The consulting team's technical brief — the raw input before any design decisions were made.

Consulting Technical Brief 1898 & Co. Technical Team → Graphic Designer
Document Type
Consulting Technical Brief
Prepared By
1898 & Co. Technical Team
For
Graphic Designer — Visual Translation
Section 1 — The Problem

AI-driven data centers draw 200–1,000 MW continuously and connect directly at the substation — the grid's most constrained point. Grid infrastructure takes 8+ years to expand. Data centers are built in 18 months. That gap is the problem.

Section 2 — Technical Recommendations
  • 01Begin capacity planning now — the queue starts at filing, not construction
  • 02Assess substation capacity before new interconnection requests arrive
  • 03Treat data center demand as permanent baseline load, not a spike
Panel B  ·  02 of 03

How I Translated It

Each row maps one section of the brief to the visual form I chose and why that form serves the room.

Each visual form was chosen to serve a utility executive audience — not to display the data, but to make the argument land before anyone reads a caption.

What I Received Visual Form I Chose Why It Serves the Room
1System description — data centers connecting at the substation Architecture Diagram Executives understand systems faster through structure than through description
2Two timelines in conflict — 18 months vs 8+ years Timeline — dual-track comparison The gap between two bars communicates urgency faster than any sentence
3Five technical recommendations Process Flow + Roadmap Recommendations become an engagement — what 1898 does and what the client achieves
Panel C  ·  03 of 03

What the Client Received

Six slides built in PowerPoint, Illustrator, and Photoshop — one brief translated into a complete executive presentation.

01 — Title / Executive Briefing
PowerPointPhotoshop
Slide 01 — Executive Briefing
02 — Hook
PowerPoint
Slide 02 — Hook
03 — Architecture Diagram
PowerPointIllustratorPhotoshop
Slide 03 — Architecture Diagram
04 — Timeline
PowerPointIllustrator
Slide 04 — Timeline
05 — Process Flow
PowerPoint
Slide 05 — Process Flow
06 — Roadmap
PowerPoint
Slide 06 — Roadmap
Work Process — Built in PowerPoint
PowerPoint work process — 12-slide development sequence

Slide panel shows the full development sequence — including concept iterations — built natively in PowerPoint.

Secondary Portfolio Piece

Proposal Design

A standalone demonstration of InDesign production expertise — multi-page layout, typographic hierarchy, and print-ready document design.

This proposal design is a separate portfolio piece — independent from the grid presentation content. It showcases my ability to build a professional, multi-page document system in Adobe InDesign: master pages, paragraph styles, consistent grid, and a visual hierarchy that guides the reader from cover through closeout. The content is illustrative; the craft is the point.

ToolAdobe InDesign
FormatMulti-page Business Proposal
PagesCover + 8 interior pages
SkillsMaster pages · Paragraph styles · Grid · Typography
Business Proposal — full mockup showing cover and 8 interior pages

Full proposal mockup — cover and 8 interior pages presented in a 16:9 layout view.

Work Process — Built in InDesign
InDesign — Project Future Plan spread, pages 20–21
InDesign — Closeout Summary spread, pages 30–31

Live InDesign document — screenshots show paragraph styles panel, text frame handles, and layout grid at 100% GPU preview.

Tools Used
PowerPoint Illustrator Photoshop InDesign Claude ChatGPT