Project Brief

Data Science is the competitive advantage of the future for organizations interested in turning their data into a product through analytics. Industries from health, to national security, to finance, to energy can be improved by creating better data analytics through Data Science. The winners and the losers in the emerging data economy are going to be determined by their Data Science teams.

Booz Allen Hamilton created the Field Guide to Data Science to help organizations of all types and missions understand the DNA of Data Science by showing how to make use of data as a resource. The text spells out what Data Science is and why it matters to organizations, as well as how to create Data Science teams. Along the way, their team of experts provides field-tested approaches, personal tips and tricks, and real-life case studies.

The purpose of the Field Guide to Data Science is to showcase Booz Allen Hamilton’s leadership position in Data Analytics capabilities. The printed artifact is provided to senior level clients to promote the firm’s Data Science proficiency, and distributed digitally to clients, practitioners and other members of the professional community. It also forms part of the firm’s internal intellectual capital.

The functionalities of the Guide are varied: it is being used to win new business, attract new employees, inspire current ones, and make a statement about Booz Allen’s Data Science expertise.

Approach

The Field Guide had to exhibit a professional style and format, as well as conform to all corporate style guidelines provided by Booz Allen. At the same time, it had to be visually compelling, display the content in an informative yet provocative way, and elicit a positive emotional response from the viewer.

Given the type of content, one of the main design challenges was to present this specialized material in an authoritative manner, while staying away from the usual ‘reference manual’ visual rhetoric.

The design process was driven by one of the client’s main directive: to make data human. Hence, all illustrations created for this project are original, unique and feature their hand-made quality prominently. In tandem, we kept the graphs and charts simple to make them accessible to anyone, independent of their familiarity with Data Science. Furthermore, Alfalfa designed and implemented a family of icons to highlight key ideas.

The background color and texture were selected to further convey the sense of discovery and adventure that go hand-in-hand with a field guide.

Outcome

Since the distribution plans for this content were of far and wide reach, Booz Allen Hamilton was aware that they needed both digital and analog delivery channels. Notch-binding in grey thread, a dust-jacket that doubles as a poster, die-cut through which the title of the book can be read, are production details of the printed version that make it a keepsake artifact.

As far as the digital version, as of the end of March 2014 the Field Guide had been downloaded approximately 11,000 times from Booz Allen Hamilton’s website. It is the most popular content at boozallen.com; having garnered 500,000 social media impressions at last count.