Educational Handouts/Template

The Educational Handout template was created to address the increasing demand for preapproved templated collateral, which would be uploaded to a new self-serve platform.

The pieces above were generated using the template.

Collateral was designed with limited creative direction and strict parameters in mind, which included no copy changes and stock images. Certain type treatments and graphic elements were used to create visual interest and hierarchy in content.

The success of the self-serve platform helped free up Advisor Marketing’s time and resources, which could be redirected to larger, strategic initiatives and projects.

Context:

Before Advisor Marketing installed the self-serve platform, advisors used to go through a tedious submission process to customize templated collateral with their logo and information. They had to rely on Commonwealth staff to make these manual updates. The new self-serve platform was created to automate this process for the advisors.

During Commonwealth’s rebranding phase, they established a new sub brand for product-based offerings, including Advisor Marketing’s educational handouts and other collateral on the self-serve platform.

Process:

The Educational Handout template would be used to translate existing and new pieces to the new sub brand.

Compared to the Type Template, there were different challenges involved with building the template. We had to work with limited creative direction and parameters, which included no content changes and stock images. Also, we must leave a certain amount of space at the bottom for advisor logo, contact information, and disclosure language.

Our solution involved incorporating graphic elements (i.e. icons, callouts, diagrams, charts, stylized numbers) to create visual interest and hierarchy in the heavy copy.

I also included non-printing notes to highlight best practices with using the template. I compiled multiple types of handouts into one master template file, so other designers could use them as reference to quickly produce future collateral.