Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Sustainability Management Plan
Client: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
Role: Creative Direction, Graphic Design, Project Management
“Quentin has been a breath of fresh air to the marketing team. Not only does Quentin bring new and creative solutions, but his attitude is great as well. Quentin brings a unique perspective and balance to sometimes rigid technical thinking. He continues to push and challenge our thinking. — Rodney Chapin, CDM Smith Regional Sales Leader
Introduction of Brand
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) was the third busiest airport in the world and the second largest driver of economic impact in the state of Texas. DFW recognized its role in the overall well-being and long-term impacts at local, national, and global levels. Consequently, the airport committed itself to achieving net zero carbon by 2030 through emissions reductions and investments in carbon removal technologies. DFW was awarded an Airport Improvement Program grant by the FAA for the purpose of developing a comprehensive Sustainability Management Plan (SMP). As a result, DFW partnered with CDM Smith to create their SMP.
Final cover design.
Alternative cover design.
Alternative cover design.
The Challenge
DFW’s SMP was going to be used by the FAA to guide 43 other airports in developing their own sustainability management programs. Additionally, stakeholders, including city leaders, local corporations, as well as the general public, have high expectations. Therefore, the creative challenge was to transform what would be a typical dry engineering report into a set of visually appealing technical communication and stakeholder documents that would effectively engage the technical and non-technical audience.
DFW International Airport's vision for their sustainability initiative. This graphic was used in the report and as a stakeholder handout.
DFW International Airport's process for developing their Sustainability Management Plan. This graphic was used in the report and as a stakeholder handout.
Internal page layout from the Sustainability Management Plan report.
Visual Signifiers
I collaborated with CDM Smith’s aviation sustainability expert, client sales leader, as well as the client to produce a high-quality, visually appealing set of communication documents aimed at the non-technical stakeholders. If this portion of the audience can understand the content, the technical members will have no problems comprehending the information. In addition to the full report and executive summary that was available to the stakeholders as well as the public, we also developed a range of stakeholder-only materials including a brochure, postcard, multiple presentations, and meeting handouts. Additionally, I managed the development of the different communication deliverables along with their production.
Poster and handout used at stakeholder meetings.
Results
The DFW SMP was awarded the American Academy of Environmental Engineers & Scientists Excellence in Environmental Engineering Honor Award for Environmental Sustainability.
Postcard summarizing the Sustainability Management Plan, used at community outreach meetings.
Skill Set
Skill sets employed throughout the DFW SMP include creative direction, graphic design, publication layout, and print production management. Technical programs used to build the creative are all Adobe Creative Cloud products, InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop.
Trifold brochure summarizing the Sustainability Management Plan. The brochure was handed out to attendees at community outreach meetings.