50. HOWRY DESIGN ASSOCIATES
“Whenever you get a chance to write about sex, you take the ball and run with it,” quips Jill Howry of Howry Design Associates, referring to the annual report for Vivus, Inc., a company that develops products to restore sexual health.

Each spread juxtaposes deadpan headlines with images of people —who appear to have their minds elsewhere—doing mundane activities. “We wanted the reader to consider other, more interesting things they might be doing,” Howry notes. The report opens with images of women paired with pages covered in slabs of magenta. Then the color shifts to blue and the images to men. “Last year their report focused on products for men; this year, they wanted to make it clear that they have products for both genders.” The central challenge, given the subject matter, was creating the right tone. “The client loves the cleverness,” Howry says, “but we couldn’t get too silly.” It is an annual report after all, addressing serious issues, but Howry wanted to keep it light. A spread, for example, that shows a rumpled man at his bathroom sink with the headline, “Men could be having more fun too,” strikes the balance. After all, notes Howry, “How many chances do you get to do an annual report with a guy flossing his teeth?” Laurel Saville