54. CAHAN & ASSOCIATES
The first page of the Greater Bay Bancorp annual report features two small lists of names, connected in twos by colored lines. It’s a graphic treatment with an appealing, grade-school quality—much like “Suzie loves Jim” scribbled on a notebook cover. Art director Michael Braley describes those same lines as the simplest way to communicate relationships, the report’s overall theme.

In addition to all the standard financial information, this glossy book features a series of stories about the bank’s customers. These mini-articles—complete with photographs—give a soft, one-onone look at how the company’s bankers help individuals overcome business challenges. “They wanted the client to be the hero in the book,” Braley says. “The banker is just there helping out.” To give the book an extra level of detail, Braley embossed those important relationship lines right onto the cover. Michelle Taute