charity: water has a unique model of funding: 100% of public donations go straight to the field. Operations and overhead are funded by a unique group of generous donors called The Well. Within The Well, there are a select few who go above and beyond by supporting the org at $1M or more a year – The Angels.

As a show of gratitude, charity: water wanted to create a unique book for them that tells the narrative of what their money means to us: not just the obvious things like pens and computers and snacks in the kitchen, but the things that go unseen. I chose to play on the idea of ROI (return on investment) and worked to create unique narrative data visualizations about what the world sees, and what we see. The book included a flat lay photo that incorporated one item from the desk of every member of the team.

The original Angel Book was printed by Artifact Uprising as a limited edition hardback flat-lay book, customized to specific donors. However, the content was repurposed in a soft-bound book, with the addition of a fold-out timeline and utilizing printed vellum sheets with the “data” overlaid on the photos for each unique story, which was distributed to The Well community to celebrate The Well’s10 Year Anniversary. Both versions of the book included every New York based staff member’s signature on the Thank You page.