Insurance company Colina has won a Silver Quill Award in Publication Design for its new look 2009 Annual Report entitled Ahead of the Curve.

The Silver Quill awards are awarded annually by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). Colina’s report was entered into the IABC Southern Region category, which includes 14 southern US states and four Caribbean countries.

The insurance giant paired with local design firm Karma Design to develop the report, which is part of an entire corporate rebranding for the company. In December 2009, Colina Insurance Ltd adopted a new logo and reflected it in the report’s graphics, which were praised by the IABC Judges as being “clean, compelling and comprehensive. A very smart job in connecting new corporate identity to the design elements throughout the book.”

Colina’s corporate communications officer Melanie Hutcheson, who led the company’s rebranding efforts, says: “We chose the title Ahead of the Curve because of the company’s outstanding results for the previous year in the face of economic uncertainty. The procedures we enacted to help clients and shareholders, and helped us to an impressive profit.

“The fact that the rebranding initiative coincided with a record financial performance for the company gave this design concept an even more organic fit.”

Partner and account director at Karma Design, Brian Goudie, adds: “It is a great honour to win a Silver Quill Award for designing a publication around Colina’s strong strategic messages. We are all very excited that it delivered measurable results for them.”

Next year, Colina hopes to repeat its success–this time in the Gold Quill category, which is open to entrants worldwide. The company intends to enter the global competition with its 2011 calender, which consists of images on the theme of The Art of Charity.

Bahamian charities such as the Red Cross, the AIDS Foundation and the Salvation Army have all been involved in the calendar’s design and Hutcheson is hoping the unique format will sway the IABC judges.

“The calender is a collection of illustrations from hand rendered oil paintings. It is a means of raising awareness of these charities,” she explains.