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Methodologie

BANK ANNUAL AS EDUCATIONAL TOOL

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle (FHLBS) is a member-owned cooperative that provides wholesale funding to financial institutions for home mortgage, small business and other types of loans. Their annual Report of Affordable Housing and Community Investment Initiatives highlights the successful community lending programs with which the FHLBS is involved by sharing the personal stories of participants.

Because many financial institutions are unaware of the various affordable housing programs or don't know how to use them effectively, FHLBS and the Seattle design agency Methodologie decided to make the bank's 2006 annual an educational tool.

The book begins by explaining the available programs, answering commonly asked questions and providing a glossary of key financial terms. It then presents case studies of homeowners, financial institutions, developers and others who took advantage of the programs that the FHLBS supports. The profiles highlight the positive results that the programs have on people and communities.

Account Director/Strategic Director: Mary Weisnewski; Designer: Minh Nguyen; Photographer: Young Lee; Copywriter: Connie Waks; Production Artist: Lynn Pasley; Editor: Paula Thurman

HartungKemp

FOUNDATION REPORT LOOKS TO THE HORIZON

When you look at the horizon, what do you see? That's the question the creative team at Minneapolis' HartungKemp asked when they developed The McKnight Foundation's 2006 Annual Report. The McKnight Foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations and public agencies that respond to community needs and improve the quality of life in Minnesota, the U.S. and throughout the world. For the 2006 annual, the foundation wanted to share stories of how its grantees make a difference in people's lives — where they live, work and play. They asked HartungKemp, a design shop in Minneapolis, to create an engaging, interactive annual report that people wanted to read, that went beyond numbers-crunching and that revealed the humanity of giving.

Because the annual report relies on photographs to depict each story, HartungKemp needed a concept that ties all the stories and photos together. Designer Dawn Wenck came up with the idea of a horizon –– either a structural line or an actual horizon –– that flows from photo to photo. Using triple gatefolds on the front and back covers, each of which rolls out to form four panels, HartungKemp made the stories literally unfold to form one big horizon, thereby showing that all McKnight giving areas are on the same playing field — helping people.

Creative Director: Stefan Hartung; Designer: Dawn Wenck; Account Executive: Carrie Mielke; Production Manager: Aisling Reynolds; Photography: Chris Faust, Metropolitan Design Center Image Bank, Dawn Wenck, Stefan Hartung; Copywriters: Tim Hanrahan, The McKnight Foundation

Smizer Perry

PATIENT PHOTOGRAPHY PROVES CHALLENGING

10 years ago, three small, independent Visiting Nurse Associations in the state of Connecticut found themselves struggling to keep up with increasing demands for their services. So, they banded together to become the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut (VNASC). The organization wanted to celebrate the 10th anniversary of that union in its 2006 annual report, and it tapped design firm Smizer Perry of New London CT for the job.

Smizer Perry suggested the theme "Ten Years of Combined Care." The designers also worked with the client to pick out 10 compelling stories from VNASC's 2006 record in order to feature them in the annual. The stories pay tribute to the amazing caregivers at VNASC who ensure that patients get timely treatment, compassionate care and needed support.

Smizer Perry principal Amy Perry comments, "The patient photography was most challenging aspect of this project. From one day to the next, we didn't know what we are going to be able to capture. Permissions were not easy to obtain, and we had little control or forewarning of the patients' surroundings. In the end, it was all about the people, and as such the shots are tight and the backgrounds soft."

Designer: Joseph Lee; Photographer: Jack Sauer; Printer: Omnicolor

Curran & Connors

BRAND VOICE PREDOMINATES IN KENNETH COLE REPORT

Every client is unique, so every design solution must be different. The most important asset that a design firm can offer a client is the ability to listen. Take Kenneth Cole, for example. The Curran & Connors studio in Hauppauge NY has worked with Kenneth Cole Productions for more than 12 years, creating strategic annual reports that remain true to the brand's unique –– socially conscious, simple, direct –– voice.

"Nobody needs what I sell," Kenneth Cole says. "There is probably not a person in this country who needs another pair of black shoes. Nobody needs more ties, more white shirts. My job is to get people to feel good about buying these products. But at the end of the day, there are things that are more important."

Curran & Connors understands that design should never overwhelm the brand's message. Kenneth Cole's 2006 Annual Report is efficient, comfortable and progressive, and the format is reader-friendly. The black-on-black cover creates an elegant package that contains the company's message and the annual financial review. The letter from Kenneth –– in its entirety, only 800 words –– is also friendly and efficient. Great effort goes into creating images that embody the brand and make a serious fashion statement.

Art Director: John Einemann; Account Executive: Stephen Seligson; Kenneth Cole Team: Paul Coviello, Christopher Yoham; Photography: Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc.

Thinkso Creative

MT. SINAI COVER HAS CURB APPEAL

The Mount Sinai Department of Medicine's 2007 Annual Report aims to enhance the reputation of The Mount Sinai Medical Center by emphasizing what The New York Sun described as "one of the biggest turnarounds in medical history." During Dr. Paul Klotman's tenure as the chair of the Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai regained a position of national leadership after a period of fiscal distress. The growth and achievements of the department, the largest in the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, were pivotal to the turnaround.

The department retained Thinkso Creative of New York City to bring the manuscript to life visually. Thinkso's task was threefold. The annual had to convey the department's achievements to the medical professionals who rank it in published surveys. The annual also had to serve as a tool for recruiting new talent. As such, it was essential that the book be navigable from multiple points of interest. Thinkso designed an energetic book that features a lively color palette, custom photography by Matthew Septimus and a variety of charts, pull quotes and typographic treatments to accommodate a something-for-everyone approach.

Thinkso's third objective was to give the cover curb appeal, so as to create a memorable impression when the book lands on a desk. Mount Sinai officials felt it should not be done through production gimmicks or expensive printing and binding. Instead a plain typographic wrapper or an image collage – both typical annual report looks – the cover of the Mount Sinai annual features the iconic lab coat worn by every Mount Sinai doctor. Embroidered with the title of the book and the institution's logo, the treatment proves both tasteful and distinctive.

Designers: Brett Traylor, Amy Gorrek; Copywriters: Debra Kaplan, MSc., Michael Cala; Photographers: Matthew Septimus

SamataMason

EDITORIAL STARS IN SESAME WORKSHOP PUBLICATION

The Chicago office of design agency SamataMason developed the 2006 Sesame Workshop Annual Report as an editorialdriven publication so that the annual could later live as a newsletter for the client. Key initiatives of the Sesame Workshop are addressed through individual stories, and the typography and image treatments are designed to reflect the specific content of each story. Printed on lightweight coated paper in a slightly larger format, the annual effectively provides the same visual impact and sense of editorial immediacy as a magazine while also fulfilling its intended objective as an annual report.

Creative Director: Dave Mason; Art Directors: Dave Mason, Beth May; Designer: Beth May

Titanium Design Group

FUN BOOK SOLVES BUDGET PUZZLE

"All rollercoasters come to an end." So thought Kelly Friedl the day that the Menomonee Club for Boys and Girls broke the news that their annual report budget was slashed in half. Friedl's Chicago-based studio, Titanium Design Group, had created annual reports for the Menomonee Club for many years. The relationship was a designer's dream. There were always tight budgets; the club is a not-for-profit, after all. But the club granted Friedl and Titanium complete liberty to be creative within the budget.

"It was a Friday afternoon, and my scheduled meeting with the executive director of the Menomonee Club sent me home in a bit of a weekend slump," Friedl continues. "It left me muttering 'Kinko's' repeatedly on my drive home."

However, the following week, when Friedl picked up a carload of students from her daughter's school, she glimpsed a coloring book in the backpack of one young girl. The black ink and cheap paper gave her an idea.

Friedl reports, "The next morning I dumped a pile of puzzle, activity, and coloring books on my assistant's desk. With a lot of laughter (and some tedious production), Tara and I proceeded with the concept of the 'fun book,' twisting every required element of an annual report into a game or puzzle. Sweetly, the resulting product not only served its mission as an annual report but also became a game book for the club members' families."

Executive Designer: Kelly Friedl; Game Design and Production: Tara Rhode; Illustrators (The American Academy of Art): Dan Flaven, Jesse Graber and Luis Flores; Copywriter: Kelly Friedl; Printer: John Swift and Company