The Global Technology group at Travelers Insurance provides property and casualty insurance to high-tech clients in telecommunications, information technology, medical technology, and electronics manufacturing.
Working within the Travelers Insurance brand standards, Carolyn was asked to create a look unique to this business line, uniquely expressed through color, page layout and photographic styling. Dozens of marketing pieces were created using these brand standards.
St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN is one of the largest private women’s universities in the nation. They “foster an inclusive community of women to learn and discern wisely, live and lead justly, and shape a better world.”
To celebrate the completion of a monumental $86 million capital campaign, St. Catherine University hired Carolyn to design a book that summarized and celebrated the campaign.
The design included portraits of leading faculty and notable students, a running narrative of the school’s history and their vision for the future, along with luminous watercolor paintings. The report was available in two versions: a 64-page version that included a list of donors, and a 32-page version of just the editorial pages. The reports were distributed to donors, alumni, and community leaders.
When floral designer Christine Carlson Chan expressed the challenges of discussing color with clients, Carolyn developed an innovative tool — and new visual identity.
Christine Carlson Chan is known for creating beautiful floral arrangements, but she was frustrated by the potential for miscommunication when brides-to-be used the broad terms like “pink,” “blue,” “yellow,” or “green” to talk about color. As a floral designer, Christine needed to know if the client desired blush or coral pink; periwinkle or indigo blue; butter or lemon yellow, shamrock or lime green. Carolyn proposed a flexible and customizable tool Christine could use to ensure she created arrangements in the client’s dream color palette.
The design solution could be produced using just two colors, so it was cost-effective to print business cards, hangtags and covers for the custom color tool.
What seemed like a simple idea — to craft the word “Merry” from evergreen needles — turned into a days-long project with sap-covered fingers. Despite the sticky mess, the project provided a fun and festive way for Carolyn to send clients a one-of-a-kind holiday greeting.
If the letters in “Merry” appear familiar, there’s a reason: at the time, the font P22 Marcel™ Script was still in development. Oversize outlines of individual letters-in-progress were used as a template for the needle constructions.
Medical device manufacturer Tactile Medical hired Carolyn to design two iPad apps their sales force could use when talking with physicians and lymphedema therapists about their flagship product: the Flexitouch® advanced pneumatic compression system.
Tactile Medical’s Flexitouch® Plus works by sequentially inflating and deflating chambers to create a gentle, wave-like motion that directs lymph fluid from the impaired area toward healthy regions of the body. The fluid is then naturally absorbed and processed by the body. The Flexitouch is designed for at-home treatment of lymphedema, chronic edema, chronic venous insufficiency, and chronic wounds.
The apps showed compelling before-and-after photos of patients who benefitted from using the Flexitouch device, details about patient results, and testimonials from clinicians overseeing patient care.
The apps launched to rave reviews. Sales reps said they expected to see an immediate positive business benefit by using the apps, and indeed they did. One rep reported they completed three sales the very first time they used it.
“The iPad app was launched at the sales meeting with an amazing response from the reps! They LOVED it. Thank you so much for all your ingenuity and work on this project.””
– COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, TACTILE MEDICAL
“Using it was phenomenal; the [end customer] was completely engaged.”
After a year of change and growth, the management team at MMIC decided on a theme for their annual report: “We’re listening.” They hired Carolyn to bring the message to life.
MMIC (part of Constellation Mutual) provides medical professional liability insurance, along with webinars, data analytics, and action plans designed to help healthcare clients minimize risks and improve patient safety practices.
Since MMIC’s customers are in healthcare, Carolyn proposed supporting the “we’re listening” message with technical medical information about hearing. Photos were accompanied with facts such as: – The human ear is capable of responding to the widest range of stimuli of any of the senses. – The ear’s malleus, incus, and stapes (known as the hammer, anvil, and stirrup) are the smallest bones in the body. – Ears not only help you hear, but aid in balance. – The ear takes in many sounds at one time. The brain sorts and prioritizes the auditory signals in orderly patterns so you can understand what you are hearing. Listening is not the same as hearing. Hearing is taking the sound in; listening is paying attention to what is going on.
When Minnesota’s largest community foundation wanted help designing a new publication, MNSights, they called on Carolyn to help.
The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations bring together donors, nonprofits, and community members to address some of the biggest problems facing Minnesota. They are Minnesota’s largest community foundation and the partner of choice for thousands of donors, nonprofits, and community organizations. Their team supports more than 2,000 charitable organizations and donor funds, and manages nearly $1.5 billion in assets. The publication MNSights was created to share knowledge and resources — particularly on the topics of advancing equity and strengthening communities.
Carolyn designed the template for the new publication and was involved in the production of the first several print issues.
When Guidant (now part of Boston Scientific) needed to publish technical product performance information in a single-page format, they hired Carolyn to figure out how it could be accomplished.
Data that had to be included on each page varied by product. Pages with information on pacemakers, for example, had to include average predicted battery longevity (referred to as “survival” and expressed in years), device volume, software version, BOL/ERT magnet rate information, and warranty length. Pages with information on leads included average predicted longevity, lead placement, fixation method, insulation material, polarity, and connector type.
Once all stakeholders agreed on what data needed to be included, Carolyn explored solutions for presenting all that information on a single page. After refining solutions based on client feedback, she helped with the production of the initial report. Subsequent reports were produced by in-house design staff.
The Sales Force Automation group at Guidant (now part of Boston Scientific) hired Carolyn to design several pieces of collateral, including this piece which was used at a once-a-year sales meeting.
Individuals in Guidant’s sales force had varying levels of computer proficiency, so the technical information needed to be presented in a way that would engage high-end users, yet not overwhelm lower-end users.
A layered approach was developed. The first layer of information communicated the “what’s in it for me?” benefit to engage the reader. The second layer of information outlined key objectives for the year. The final layer included detailed steps on how to implement the technology. The brochure was accompanied by display graphics, buttons and other tools.
Travelers Insurance hired Carolyn to develop a suite of materials that would encourage independent agents to quote and sell Travelers products.
The agent recruitment kit included a variety of inserts that explained the company’s technology platform, product breadth, commission structure, claim handling process, customer acquisition tools and more. The entire message supported the theme: “Travelers does more to help independent agents grow.”
Carolyn worked with the Arbor Day Foundation to create a live-seeding promotion which could be sent to prospective agents as a pre-meeting teaser, or used as a follow-up to a face-to-face meeting. The seeding was a powerful way to reinforce the “grow with us” message.
Carolyn’s work for Travelers has been awarded an Award of Excellence from the Insurance Marketing Communications Association.