Bard of Bray
Finance & Law
Honestly? Really honestly? Generally you financial clients are frustrating to work with. You want to pay less than everyone else, appear to appreciate the power of words less than anyone else, and generally find it harder to see your clients' point of view than anyone else, despite all the efforts over the years to convince the public otherwise. You often ask for something 'real' and then go on to edit out all the 'real' bits until you end up with what you started. So we have to be very clear about our rapport and your objectives before I'll take on work with you. If you want tomes of dry, technical copy, look elsewhere. If it's "interest interest", and not APR you seek, read on. As some of the clients below prove, it can be done.
ABN AMRO
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Mark Studio
Sometimes it only takes a sentence to underpin a brilliant design. Mark Lester wanted to run a single piece of cotton all the way through this brochure aimed at ABN AMRO’s global wholesale clients. ABN AMRO wanted to reaffirm their commitment to long-term relationships. A happy marriage was made when that commitment became “the common thread that draws all of our resources and skills into a powerful whole.”
AXA
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The Partners
This job was for AXA Investment Managers. Later I wrote the entire AXA motor insurance website for the UK - but insanely never saved or printed a page of it. I say insanely... It takes a special kind of person to get excited about motor insurance.
FINANCIAL SERVICES SKILLS COUNCIL
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Kino Design
The FSSC, now renamed the Financial Skills Council, is a team of specialists that offers solutions to industry-wide issues regarding talent attraction and skills development. This was their brochure – the numbers centred around people, of course.
INSIGHT
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The Partners / Kino Design
I worked for Insight both at its inauguration, with The Partners, and later with Kino Design to produce an 'Inspired thinking' booklet. The informal, approachable line they wanted to take on both occasions was a breath of fresh air.
KJ COLES
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The Partners
This was a booklet about trust for underwiter KJ Coles.
KPMG
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SAS London
With several senior executives having a say in several countries, getting a brochure for any company of this size to maintain a focused and unified vision (in this case to inspire a leadership programme globally) is challenging work. But I think KPMG managed it really well with this brochure: there's the right amount of emotion to connect where it matters. Just as well – any piece on leadership without it is dead in the water.
STANDARD CHARTERED
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SAS London
I helped write Standard Chartered's graduate recruitment website in 2010 and 2011. Again, a great client keen to use language people stand a chance of relating to. Click above for 2010, and here for 2011|.
ALQUITY INVESTMENT
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Kimpton Creative
An African fund designed to reinvest in Africa at grass roots level, the need was to convince investors of the moral and financial benefits of investing here.
FJ CLEVELAND
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The Partners
Expensive lawyers were wasting time repeating the basics of trademark law to every new client. This brochure replicated these conversations, building in asides, leaps, opportunities to recap...
MOORE MANAGEMENT
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Zulver & Co
This small brochure featured illustrations of geat daring and skill – think the Milk Tray man (showing my age there) but in finance. Moore Management would do 'whatever it takes' to get the right results for their clients, such was their flexibility and customer service.