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An Annual Report Showcasing the Value of Partnerships

George Brown College (GBC) approached Pivot to design an annual report that could showcase the benefits enjoyed by everyone involved in partnerships with the college, including not only their students but also donors and funders, other academic institutions, local businesses, and government.

Challenge

GBC wanted its annual report to tell the story of how the college is fulfilling its mandate to provide high-quality education and workplace readiness for a diverse student body. It also wanted to shed light on how its many partnerships not only benefited students, but also its community partners. Our Discovery Phase also uncovered another very practical need – that a portion of the report that didn’t change from year to year be repurposed to save costs going forward.

Information gathering during project kickoff
Moodboard with samples demonstrates ideas for the visual approach

Solution

PIVOT developed the title “More Than You Expect” to reflect something our research uncovered – many of the services and benefits GBC brings to its partners they wouldn't likely have expected to be something that would be available at a college. We worked closely with a photographer to brainstorm ideas and develop an approach that would communicate this idea, and together were able to bring the concept to life.

PIVOT came up with a unique formatting solution for the Annual Report design. A central insert booklet showcases all of the timeless feature stories about partnerships with the college, and a removable jacket contains time-specific information like statistics, donor lists, and financials to satisfy the use case of being able to easily remove and update the publication for future use.

Inner report cover
Opening spread

Impact

The college was so pleased with the dynamic and cost-saving design of the report that they returned to Pivot the following year to design a new outer jacket for their 50th-anniversary edition. Keeping to the original concept, the outer jacket showcases time-sensitive material – a celebratory timeline of the college's milestones and achievements over its 50-year history – and the inner report is repurposed from the year before.