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Kansas Health Foundation

Flipping Out

After creating two national award-winning annual reports for the Kansas Health Foundation, Greteman Group went back to the creative well for the 2005 report, where it pulled up another fun, nontraditional idea: a flipbook. Like its predecessors — one took the form of a storybook and the other flashcards — the latest annual is about more than financials. It lays out the philanthropic organization's strategic approach to grantmaking and prevention-oriented, long-term healthcare solutions, while reminding the audience that a child raised right can grow up to be or to do anything. The concept: taking interest in a child is like flipping the pages of a book to see the possibilities and the potential. The little book encourages reader interaction and shows how adults can help launch a future astronaut, create an artist or grow a farmer. While the foundation serves to improve the health of all Kansans, it rightly understands that what the children become determines what Kansas will become. A focus on early brain development leverages the life-defining years from birth to age five. The book is spiral-bound and includes original illustrations as well as accompanying parent-child activities.

Knight Capital Group

Showcasing People

Knight Capital Group is a financial services firm that provides asset management and global markets services to its clients. Over the past four years, new executive leadership has guided Knight through successful reorganizational and cultural changes resulting in a company with a stronger, client-centric philosophy and structure. Knight wanted the 2005 annual report to communicate how much the company has moved forward and to showcase Knight's people and how they go the extra mile for clients. Knight also wanted to provide information about the depth and breadth of their products and services and to explain how the various parts of the company make money. A number of their shareholders are also clients, which provided an opportunity to speak to them on several levels through the report. The theme "The Knight Difference" was chosen to meet those goals and highlight the unique aspects of the company that differentiate it from competitors and give its clients an edge. Large photos by George Lange feature Knight employees working and interacting in the company's new, state-of-the-art headquarters. Headlines such as "Our People" and "Our Market Insight" are used to define the unique facets of the company. They are accompanied by call-outs featuring statistics and insightful statements about Knight's client focus and forward-looking strategy. A five-page section presents the company's extensive global markets services. Credits go to Creative Director Critt Graham and Designer Esther Kim.

Madison Square Boys & Girls Club

The Annual As Fundraising Tool

The Madison Square Boys & Girls Club required a fundraising piece that not only explained the organization's mission and program but that also encompassed a small annual report. Jessica Weber Design (JWD) was tapped for the project. The client provided JWD's designers, Tyler Bush and Rachel Greene, with wonderful photographs of their clubs, which Photographer Jerry Speier supplemented by commissioning portraits of several children that belong to the group. The latter images are paired with short biographies in order to give donors a better sense of who their money and support is helping. A simple, six-panel annual report insert — including the president's letter, financials and the donor list — is slipped into the back pocket of the main fundraising piece. Art Director and Principal Jessica Weber headed the project.

AES Corporation

Global Network of People

When Addison created the brand and imagery for AES Corporation, the goal was to represent them as a truly global organization, not an American company operating abroad. The point was to underscore that AES understands the markets they serve because they live there, they work there and they are committed to helping the countries they serve grow and prosper in the long run. At AES "here" is everywhere. Every day, around the globe, 30,000 people generate and deliver the electricity that drives businesses, helps hospitals and schools function efficiently, and enhances the quality of life for millions of people. The AES story is based on the principle that empowered people can achieve success. For the 2005 annual report, Addison took this idea a step further. Building upon the tagline, "The Power of Being Global," Addison created a theme that stresses the network of experts AES has around the world. An issue that the company encounters in Cameroon can inform an approach taken in California. The annual report emphasizes innovation and knowledge-sharing, combines local experience with the ability to provide creative and diverse solutions.