Design and Content Consultant Services

The vendor required to provide design and content consultant shall have experience working at the brand level, developing scalable visual systems and guidelines to bring clarity to organizational identities.
- General work-plan and administration
•    Administrative details, such as invoicing frequency and process
•    Point of contact for each party and communications protocols within the team
•    Progress reporting, including mechanisms for regular check-ins, task check-ins, etc.
•    General prioritization and timing for work within each of the following tasks
•    Plans for ongoing transfer of native files produced, including final audit at contract’s end to ensure all files have been shared
- Brand guidelines build out
•    Brand guidelines, the consultant shall work with agency in-house design team to conceptualize guidance for artwork and messaging.
•    Brand systems and tie together agency themes to contribute to existing guidance for visual and informational consistency of agency various programs, plans, and activities
•    The agency’s existing brand guide, as well as any associated assets and template files to implement guidance in the new sections.
•    These include audience research on stakeholder communication preferences and informational needs, regional demographic data, stakeholder and public input, communication tactic performance metrics, etc.
•    The next update to agency regional plan update beginning in fiscal year 2026, to be named connect SoCal 2050, consultants will track with a broad view of agency portfolio to inform developing brand guidance.
- Art direction
•    Consultant shall partner with agency in-house design team to provide high-level art direction to effectively convey the agency brand and communicate complex information related to regional planning and related programs.
•    Consultant shall be asked to conceptualize design solutions to simply and elegantly represent agency programs and processes, from funding administration to housing allocation, and many more.
•    The consultant shall have art director capable of high-level information design and the ability to work within an established brand.
•    The ongoing work, art direction services will also be needed throughout the process to develop connect SoCal 2050.
•    This includes, but is not limited to, collateral to support development and adoption of the plan over the two-year period where this work takes place, as well as art direction of the final plan book.
- Ongoing design support
•    Consultant shall partner with agency in-house design team to be an extension of our staff, providing extra capacity for ongoing design work.
•    Consultant shall be called upon to design deliverables such as fact sheets, presentations, planning studies and reports with infographics, and more.
•    Consultant shall have designers proficient in production design and text layouts, as well as higher level informational design.
•    This work is expected to coincide with busy times of year at agency, when staff resources are stretched due to large events like the annual general assembly and economic summit, as well as the connect SoCal 2050 development process.
- Copywriting and editing support services
•    Content and design team and serve as an extension of our in-house team, providing extra capacity for ongoing work. 
•    Consultants will be called upon to review copy, craft headlines and advise on clear organization of documents and deliverables such as the connect SoCal 2050 plan book, fact sheets, presentations, event programs book, and more.
•    Coincide with busy times of year at agency, when staff resources are stretched due to large events like the annual general assembly and economic summit, as well as the connect SoCal 2050 development process.

- Contract Period/Term: 5 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: January 23, 2026