Building
Inspiration

Sometimes you find inspiration in unusual places. For us, we find creative inspiration in our surroundings. Bradley Brown's home is Carnegie's oldest building, the Mansfield Brown House. We aren't the only ones who think the building has a cool charm. businessweek.com took note of our building's distinctive history last month.

Go to the following link and then click on our building (last photo on the right) for our part of the story.

http://images.businessweek.
com/ss/06/07/victorians/
index_01.htm?chan=search

Annual Reports: Keepin' Them Real.

In 26 years, we have produced nearly a hundred annual reports. How do we keep them fresh and on the cutting edge? How do we rejuvenate to tackle these challenging projects? Doing our homework is the best motivational tool. We love to look at all kinds of annual reports, we like to read about annual report trends. And, yes, we even keep tabs on new SEC rules.

Here are some annual reports that stopped our designers in their tracks.


 

Caterpillar Inc. 2005 Annual Report

http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=37424&x=7

Daniel says: "I love the boldness of this report. From bold capital lettering, solid colors and ultra-dramatic photography, this book talks with a loud voice."

Ford Motor Company 2005 Annual Report

http://www.ford.com/en/company/investorInformation/companyReports/
annualReports/2005annualReport/2005_pdfs.htm

Daniel says: "Using a simple color palette on white accentuates the clean and sleek look of automobile innovation."

IBM 2004 Annual Report

http://www.ibm.com/annualreport/

Matt says: "I like the shift in format. The first nine pages run horizontal and then it shifts to a wall calendar format. Although the PDF doesn't do it justice, I like the way imagery and content span the gutter seamlessly."

Progressive Insurance 1999 Annual Report

http://investors.progressive.com/annual.asp

Matt says: "Progressive is known for their conceptual, intriguing reports and this one by far is one of the best. Even though it is several years old, it still holds its own and is one we always go back to. The unusual, conceptual photography is definitely not what you would expect from an insurance company; which is one of their strategic messages."

Here are some articles and resources for anyone involved in producing annual reports.
Sites for viewing or ordering, thousands of current and historical annual reports.
http://www.irin.com/cgi-bin/main.cgi
http://www.annualreports.com/

An interesting article on changing SEC reporting rules. SEC requires disclosure of more details.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/
financialnews/D8J404201.htm?
chan=search
A great article on annual report trends, with case studies, published in Graphic DesignUSA magazine.
Annual Reports: Rebuilding Confidence

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
www.sec.gov

National Investor Relations Institute
www.niri.org

We produced an annual report planner, 168 Days, that details the annual report process from both the client and designer perspective. For a copy, please click here.

Thanks for reading.

Bradley Brown Design Group is a Pittsburgh-based graphic design firm specializing in strategic marketing programs in print and electronic communications.

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© 2006 Bradley Brown Design Group, Inc. All rights reserved.