Project image 2 for Hurricane Map, New York City Office of Emergency Management

Project image 1 for Hurricane Map, New York City Office of Emergency Management

The Ready New York campaign educates New Yorkers about how to prepare for all types of emergencies. The approach follows three principles: know the hazards, craft a disaster plan and stock emergency supplies. To accomplish this, New York City Emergency Management creates multilingual publications, public service announcements, advertising campaigns, web content and community outreach to give New Yorkers the confidence to know how to prepare, and respond, in the event of an emergency.

C&G Partners worked with New York City Emergency Management to transform a disparate set of communication tools into a unified suite of print materials that possess a clear message, a compelling voice and an inviting, accessible design. While urgent information is the content, New York City Emergency Management did not want to appear alarmist. Rather than shy away from a sensitive subject, though, CGP took steps to enhance the significance of the information. The creative team established a consistent format so that all the printed materials would read as a family. They pumped up the yellow, established a clear grid based on vertical stripes that visually reference police tape and hazard signs, and differentiated between materials with a “call to action” versus those designed merely to inform. To remind New York residents about coastal storm hazards and how to prepare for hurricane season, a new fold-out brochure offers preparedness information on one side and a map of evacuation zones on the other with a website to call for more information.