background

No Single Individual—a freelance strategy collective reshaping how agencies work—developed a provocative whitepaper tackling burnout in advertising. Titled Not Saving Lives, the piece dives deep into industry gaslighting, overwork, and the systemic failures driving talent away. It demanded visuals as unflinching as the words.

goal

Elevate the emotional and informational impact of a narrative-heavy whitepaper to ensure maximum clarity, resonance, and reach. Make the unseen—exhaustion, resentment, disillusionment—visible.

my role

I led the full visual execution of the whitepaper and its campaign rollout, including:

Editorial Design & Layout: Creating a flowing, digestible structure for dense, research-driven content.

Custom Graphic Creation: Handcrafted mixed media illustrations (physical elements scanned into Photoshop) that evoke the chaotic, raw inner lives of agency workers.

Email Marketing & Social Assets: Designing and formatting cross-channel pieces that teased the whitepaper with both starkness and sincerity.

design approach

I combined digital polish with analog imperfection. Scanned textures and handwritten-style overlays mirror the fragility and messiness of burnout, contrasting with structured data visuals that ground the emotional narrative. Fonts were chosen for legibility—but also for tone. Color palettes stayed muted, with sharp accents where truth cut deep.

impact & reception

The result? A bold, brutally honest visual story that sparked conversation across LinkedIn, trade publications, and agency Slack threads alike. The whitepaper didn’t just live—it resonated.