72. AND PARTNERS
“2004 marked the first year of an ambitious new growth plan, resulting in many months of hard work by scores of people at VF Corporation,” says David Schimmel of And Partners. “The 2004 annual report highlights the employees that played a vital part in realizing the growth plan while illustrating how each one of them truly lives the brand.”

Beautifully photographed and loaded with witty copy, the report is an exemplary document of corporate fulfillment and innovation. Inspiration behind Schimmel’s design choices, he says, came from Barney’s New York fashion catalogs.

Creating a questionnaire that would allow those being interviewed to feel they could respond without regard for how management might judge their responses was a challenge, says copywriter Walter Thomas. “The key is to be pointed but lighthearted. The success of this project from the standpoint of the written word is that the participants tended to give long, detailed, and oftentimes passionate responses to the questions posed.”

Overall, says Schimmel, response has been overwhelmingly positive. “The employees loved that there were employees of all levels in the book,” he says. “Everyone responds well to the imagery and the real people behind the growth of so many well-known brands.”
Romy Ashby