N+S collaborated with artist Nathaniel Parsons for the 2018 Progressive Corporation Annual Report. Known for his work in sculpture and installation, Parsons was commissioned to illustrate what together means to the company. The result was Camp Wanderfall, a series of national park-themed sculptures completed following a three-week road trip along Interstate 80, during which Parsons visited twenty-seven Progressive offices. Photographs of the installations and stories collected along the way were woven through the 2018 annual report design.
In addition to the printed report, N+S created a companion microsite that features additional video footage from the cross-country trip, animation, and photo galleries. The interactive web design provides additional opportunities for users to come together and to engage in the process.
The Work
For the 2018 Annual Report, The Progressive Corporation and N+S collaborated with artist Nathaniel Parsons. Known for his work in sculpture and installation, Parsons was commissioned to illustrate what together means to the company.
The resulting installation, Camp Wanderfall, is a series of national park-themed sculptures created with and inspired by Progressive people. Parsons completed a three-week road trip along Interstate 80, visiting twenty-seven Progressive offices and inviting employees to participate in the creation of his sculptural and performance artworks.
The Results
Photographs of the installation as well as the stories Parsons collected along the way were woven through the 2018 annual report design. The report also included a foldout, which we designed to highlight the company's core values. Together, these pieces perfectly illustrated how this national corporation builds teams, fosters community, and encourages collaboration.
“Progressive’s offbeat annual reports all have a fine-arts edge that merges the talents of the designers, the text of the client and the artwork from some of the nation’s finest artists.”
— Marcia Pledger, The Plain Dealer
Since 2002, N+S has created a digital companion for the printed annual report. In addition to the written content of the report, the 2018 annual report web design features video footage from Parsons’s cross-country road trip, animation, and photo galleries. The interactive site provides additional opportunities for users to come together, to understand the process, and to see how it embodies the company’s culture.
Today, Parsons’s Camp Wanderfall has become a permanent installation at Progressive’s headquarters—and is an exciting addition to their corporate art collection.
