Producing one “great” annual report

For many non-profits like Goodwill/Easter Seals, the annual report serves many purposes. That’s why it’s so important to have a good, solid design and a high-quality printer who can execute that design.

Sharon Stanton, account executive at Peggy Lauritsen Design Group (PLDG), has volunteered with Goodwill/ Easter Seals for three years. When the organization needed someone to design its annual report last year, Stanton volunteered her company, which specializes in designing brand identity systems, marketing communications and business publications.

Then she called Leif Taubenberger, her GLS account executive, to provide a print estimate. Not only did GLS provide the lowest bid on the project, it also donated $1,000 toward the cost of printing.

“It’s been our privilege to help with the annual report, and we were delighted that GLS was on-board this year as well.” – Sharon Stanton, Account Executive – Peggy Lauritsen Design Group

“The Goodwill/Easter Seals mission is solid, and the work it does is a very important part of our community,” Stanton said. “It’s been our privilege to help with the annual report, and we were delighted that GLS was on-board this year as well.”

The Goodwill/Easter Seals mission is “to assist people with barriers to education, employment and independence in achieving their goals.” More than just a place to drop off outdated clothes or accessories, the organization also assists thousands of people each year through a wide array of employment training and workforce development programs.

Emphasizing these programs was an important part of the report’s design. Goodwill/Easter Seals chose “Changing Lives” as the report’s theme. Laura Dokken, senior designer at PLDG, used type, color, line and font elements to highlight this theme.

“As a non-profit, we’re under constant scrutiny about how we spend our money. We can’t have anything that appears too expensive or over-designed,” said Elizabeth Anders, director of communications and marketing, Goodwill/Easter Seals. “Peggy Lauritsen Design Group struck a good balance with the design. It’s professional without being too over the top.”

Once the design was approved, it was time to print the report. The only problem was that Goodwill/Easter Seals had fallen in love with the colors they saw on the color laser proofs. “Although they’re based on PMS colors, laser proofs are never a perfect match,” Dokken said. “I talked to Leif on the phone, referencing a PMS color for him with ‘a little more yellow.’”

From that conversation, Taubenberger provided Dokken with a complete set of ink draw downs. “Leif never even saw the color laser proofs, and he hit that special color right on the head the first time,” Dokken said. “He also did draw downs on both the blue cover stock and the white interior paper stock so I could see how the ink looked on each paper.”

But he didn’t stop there. He added opacity to the inks on the cover to maintain color integrity. He also shifted the angles and increased the line screen on the photos from 150 to 200 dpi to clean up the edges and make the images sharper.

“Leif is always helping us think through better ways of doing things,” Stanton stated. “I don’t know of any other print rep in town who does that like Leif does. He has more detailed information in his head than anyone I know.”

According to Anders, that extra attention to detail, combined with a good, solid design, resulted in a “great” end product for Goodwill/Easter Seals. “We got a great annual report this year,” she said. “To me, the GLS and PLDG team really complement one another. They’re both flexible, professional and produce only the highest quality work.”