Category: Annual Reports

Hot Off the Press: Annual Report

alt="mount sinai surgery annual report"Lazzaro Designs was retained to significantly revise, redesign and consolidate a 100+-page annual report for the Department of Surgery at the Mount Sinai Health System. The department encompasses all the surgical divisions of the System’s seven hospitals: The Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai West, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, Mount Sinai Queens, Mount Sinai Brooklyn, and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai.

The project began in-house, but a change of on-staff marketing personnel required an outside team to swiftly bring it to completion. Lazzaro Designs agreed with the client that significant changes were needed, as well. The client’s core message of a vibrant present and a promising future built on a foundation of an impressive history dating back to the 1800s was a powerful one and we did not seek to change that direction. In fact, we were able to strengthen the department’s messaging and carry it more consistently throughout the book. Here’s specifically what we did:

Voice: The writer immediately recognized that various authors wrote the many stories and entries and the voice differed throughout the book. She thoroughly edited the entire report to make the copy consistent in style and tone as well as comply with the Health System’s branding editorial guidelines. She also brainstormed with Maryellen a major reorganization of all the sections to better present the information in a cohesive manner. By identifying fascinating stories to pull out of the larger narrative into featured sidebars and boxes, she was able to add both editorial and visual interest to the book.

Vision: Maryellen completely reorganized, redesigned and trimmed pages from the entire report. She also created a new cover to strengthen the report’s themes. Much of her redesign was also necessary to make sure the report complied with the Health System’s branding guidelines. Additionally, Maryellen worked with department and Marketing staff to locate images appropriate for print use, and culled additional photos from the System’s archives and other sources.

Getting it Done: Lazzaro Designs project-managed the effort, turning around a complete redesign and rewrite from start to delivery in under three months. The department’s and System’s top administrators are incredibly pleased and did, in fact, increase print quantities in response.

> If you need help creating a dynamic, must-read annual report, or a team to get a languishing project across the finish line, give Lazzaro Designs a call or shoot us an email.

New Client: Department of Surgery at the Mount Sinai Health System

Lazzaro Designs is pleased to announce that they have been retained to significantly revise and redesign a 100+-page annual report for the combined departments of surgery at the Mount Sinai Health System. The departments encompass all the surgical divisions of the System’s seven hospitals: The Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai West, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, Mount Sinai Queens, Mount Sinai Brooklyn, and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai.

Reimagining the Annual Report

Many of our clients come to us seeking to create an “annual report.” By its strictest definition, an annual report is a required document directed toward shareholders that discloses the organization’s current financial condition. Over time, annual reports have become rather weighty (sometimes topping 24 pages and more) opportunities to report on the broader aspect of an organization’s yearly performance and developments.

We recommend that our clients reimagine the annual report; it doesn’t have to disclose financials and it doesn’t have to be a costly tome. For example, after brainstorming with one long-term care facility, it was determined that their (aptly renamed) community report would be kept to a manageable, but very striking, 8.5 x 11 quadfold. In it, the organization was able to tell the story of their year memorably, appropriately and affordably.

> If you need help creating–or reimagining–an annual report , give Lazzaro Designs a call or shoot us an email.

Case Study: Major Capabilities Brochure

Several years ago, Lazzaro Designs was retained to create what the client called an “annual report” for the Department of Orthopaedics at Beth Israel Medical Center. After an in-depth meeting where we asked questions and listened, we helped the client focus their attention on creating a major capabilities brochure, with all the impact and pizzaz of an annual, but without the “financials” that the word “annual” implies. We understood their needs were threefold: 1) drive patient referrals, 2) make a splash in the orthopedic community at large given their status as a renowned center of excellence, and 3) provide material for philanthropic giving. Here’s specifically what we did:

Voice: Lazzaro Designs organized the 36-page book primarily around the subdivisions with a hefty physician directory at the end. Our writer undertook the massive job of interviewing all the key players of each division and consolidating all the salient points into concise, professional, but accessible copy. She also wrote the tagline for the book that captured the department’s mission.

Vision: Maryellen created spreads that enticed with eye-popping design that relied on a savvy mix of photography, illustration and exciting use of color to reflect the dynamic department. She created a theme using a significant image or object for each spread to illustrate the subdivision—an xray image for joint reconstruction, various balls for sports medicine, a teddy bear for pediatrics. She also designed a stunning cover featuring the perfect anatomical illustration to convey the book’s thematic tagline: “Restoring movement, Repairing damage, Rebuilding bodies.”

Getting it Done: Lazzaro Designs project-managed the enormous effort, including coordinating the interview and approval processes. We also retained and coordinated the photographer for all the significant photos throughout the book, arranging and facilitating the individual physician appointments during a series of headshots days, and providing numerous on-site facilitation and art direction for all such efforts.

The client was thrilled with the impressive result, which had all the gravitas of an annual report, but a longer shelf life. For years, the department proudly used the book and witnessed a boost in referrals and donor dollars.

> If you need help creating a capabilities brochure or annual report, give Lazzaro Designs a call or shoot us an email.