In 2013 I art directed two simultaneous government RFP responses competing for $1B+ in municipal franchise contracts — nine volumes for the City of Oakland, a parallel set for the Monterey Peninsula, same deadline. Oakland got a cultural campaign built on community portraiture and an Oaklandish-designed logo; for Monterey I shot every photograph myself. Oakland was ranked #1 by staff, lost politically, and won in court. Monterey lost cleanly to a better competitor. Two cities, one designer, two honest outcomes.
// The stakes
Oakland's zero waste RFP put the entire city franchise — garbage, recycling, organics, $1 billion-plus — into open competition. Waste Management had served Oakland for over a century, but the politics were hostile: WM read as a Texas corporation in a historically worker-owned industry. Simultaneously, WM was competing for franchise contracts across seven Monterey Peninsula cities — same document architecture, same window, an entirely different community argument. Losing Oakland meant losing everything; the response had to answer the politics, not just the requirements.
"Design a 9-volume RFP response that proves Waste Management isn't just a Texas corporation — it's Oakland's company. Make it impossible to dismiss as a form submission from a multinational."
// We Are Oakland — the design system
Nine 3-inch recycled-cardboard volumes, each under strict government formatting rules where a single non-conforming page could disqualify the response. Inside those constraints ran the campaign layer: full-bleed community photography on every tab, employee portraits in place of stock, and the We Are Oakland logo — designed by Oaklandish in A's green and gold — anchoring every spread identically. The photography was shot by Oakland resident photographers, with portrait work led by Ed Mestre, an Oakland resident and retired OUSD high school teacher. The WM brand grid gave the documents their authority; Oakland's own cultural language gave them their soul.
// Two cities, one window
Same architecture, same production standards, two different arguments: Oakland needed political belonging; Monterey needed quiet operational credibility in a coastal community with a strong environmental identity. For Monterey I was the sole photographer — every employee portrait, landscape, and wildlife image, from a sea otter on the opening tab to fishing families and a 40-year route manager who joined the company back from Vietnam.
// The outcome — both cities
Ranked #1. Overturned. Won in court.
The staff evaluation ranked WMAC #1 across all three service groups. In August 2014, the City Council voted 7–1 to award the contract to California Waste Solutions, overriding the staff recommendation. WM filed suit in Alameda County Superior Court and launched a voter referendum drive. Mayor Jean Quan brokered a resolution in September 2014 — WMAC was awarded garbage and organics. WM began service July 1, 2015.
Lost the evaluation. No legal action.
The MRWMD technical advisory committee recommended GreenWaste Recovery over WM for all seven Peninsula cities. One by one, every city followed — Carmel, Seaside, Pacific Grove, Marina, Sand City, Del Rey Oaks, Pebble Beach. WM retained only unincorporated Monterey County. No lawsuit, no referendum. GreenWaste won the evaluation on its merits. Sometimes a well-designed proposal meets a better competitor.
// What this body of work required
2
Simultaneous RFP responses, same 2013 window
9+
Volumes produced per city, strict government deadlines
100%
Monterey tab photography by Dana Constance
7
Monterey Peninsula cities targeted across one design system
These were two of the most contested municipal procurements in Northern California that decade. The honest portfolio story: great proposal design is necessary but not sufficient — it can win an evaluation, but it can't override entrenched politics or a sharper competitor. That's what both pieces of work proved.