IPB Insurance, the only wholly Irish-owned general insurance company in Ireland, has garnered a much coveted reputation for trailblazing in its industry. It was the first company in the world to introduce a formal dividend reporting process for a nonshareholder dividend – in other words, a social dividend allocated to the citizens of Ireland. This ‘industry first’ demanded a rethinking of the conventional Annual Report format. IPB approached us to help them achieve the goal of creating a combined annual report and stakeholder/sustainability report in one reporting document – the first of its kind in Ireland. Our brief was to ensure that we communicated the inherent warmth and earthiness of IPB’s personality, while also delivering a creative concept that captured the uniqueness of the report – the first of its kind in the Irish market. The design direction had to strike just the right balance, reflecting the company’s mutual ethos: “Prudent yet innovative”. The CMO of IPB is a genuine believer in the power of design to bolster competitive advantage. We embraced this and rose to the challenge of designing a report that clearly communicated the brand’s point of difference, while relishing the freedom that our client

It was vital that we gained a deep understanding of the overarching corporate strategy and, working closely with our client, we developed a report that would become an intrinsic part of its communications strategy. This strategy is built around “the power of three”. This consistent theme of threes is part of the brand’s DNA. Three key elements inform the company’s planning and performance measurement at corporate and individual level, forming the foundation and the very essence of the IPB brand and ethos. The report is the cornerstone of IPB’s corporate objective, acting as a visual representation of the company’s key point of difference, reflecting the overriding strategic ambition of brand. We really wanted to create something distinct and special that reflected the unique nature of the task at hand, yet embraced the warmth and friendliness of the brand’s personality. We took a tactile, multi-sensory approach with the design direction, which was also reflected in the natural FSC and PEFC certified stocks of Munken Lynx and uncoated FSC certified UPM Fine, giving the report a sophisticated, confident, yet friendly look and feel. We used a rich copper foil on the cover. This bold, elemental colour is carried through the inside pages, through the use of copper ink, anchored with a subtle earthy colour palette and the use of translucent paper that gives the report a softer feel. The circle graphic of the brandmark is used as a key graphic element to reinforce the brand, through a subtle repeating pattern, and also as a device to highlight key information. We used a clever, yet functional die cut on the right hand corner of the report to speed up navigation and create a much more user-friendly format.

Client feedback has been extremely positive. The creative concept has achieved the cutthrough that was demanded from the brief. But equally importantly was the reaction of the shareholder members and employees. Feedback has been extremely positive, bolstering brand awareness and a deeper engagement with the brand. We’re proud to say that the report was awarded Annual Report of the Year at the annual Irish Print Awards.