Mutual Fund
Investment
Literature
Designing mutual fund literature that would appeal to Strong Funds' target audiences—specifically, investors with young families and retirement several years away as well as older investors with retirement approaching in the near future—called for an approach that would appeal to both aggressive and conservative investors. Strong Capital Management had a wide range of products. The challenge was to design a visual identity system that would convey Strong Funds as a modern, family-centric, solid institution with experienced portfolio managers through cohesive brand communications across a wide range of products.
The inspiration in developing the look and feel of the Strong Funds brand communications was based on an architectural study model of Bye House designed by John Hejduk (above left). The color palette and forms—modern yet conservative and sophisticated—translated well into the two- and three-dimensional graphic elements designed to illustrate and represent Strong Funds' investment products. The color palette was extended beyond what was used in the model to deeper values to add contrast and to color-code the various products.
The Strong Family of Funds brochure (top left) served as a catalogue of investment products. The Cash Management and Conservative Equity brochures (top center and right) and the Income Funds brochure (bottom right) packaged groupings of funds within specific categories. The prospectuses on the bottom left and center were for individual funds. The covers feature photographs of representative people and families from the target audiences of investors for those particular funds.
The Strong Funds Welcome Kit brochure was printed and mailed to new investors. It contained information about the Strong Family of Funds, listed in groups and organized by levels of risk and reward, as well as providing contact information and helpful hints for investing in mutual funds.
Performance Update brochures were printed quarterly for each group of funds and mailed to investors. The design for each cover was based on the elements used in the prospectuses and annual reports for that group of funds but were purposely bolder and more dynamic.
Performance Update brochures featured the portfolio managers and illustrated the funds' growth over time to encourage investors to stay with the investment over the long term.
This direct mail brochure was designed to introduce a mutual fund with investments in Asian markets. The Strong Asia Pacific Fund was riskier than other funds that invested mostly in stocks. The spectrum on the inside right panel was a device used on Strong Funds literature to indicate the level of risk and reward.
This direct mail brochure for the Strong Growth Fund, a mutual fund that invested in stocks, was advertised as being more moderate than some of the riskier Growth Funds. Since stock funds can fluctuate, the recommendation to investors was to stay in the fund for at least five years. The use of the illustration of a staircase symbolized growth over time.
