Founded in 1979, Sunquest Information Systems Inc. is an American company that makes diagnostic software for medical organisations and laboratories (Note to Readers: Sunquest is now known as Clinisys).
Sunquest’s 1997 annual report establishes its ties to medicine with the blunt but effective tactic of using the image of a bright red stethoscope on the front cover. In a similar vein, the colour photographs inside, with their backgrounds cropped out, depict various tools and artefacts from the medical profession and from laboratories.
Likewise, the use of a spiral notepad as a design inspiration echoes laboratory work (although the pleasing, curved outer corners of the page are something of a mystery).
Type treatments in the report rely on a sturdy, serious serif with a bold sans serif for emphasis and titles (occasionally). Early in the report, one page features a block of text set in typography that gets progressively smaller down the page, reminiscent of the typography on an eye exam.
Instead of photography, the report opts for illustration in its corporate portraits. These are small, detailed, black and white images – almost photorealistic in their line work. They provide a pleasing contrast to the colour photographs and effectively draw the reader’s eye.
The design of the page grids and the use of large, faint, rotated text on the pages means the design is squarely of its time, and looking back at it now, makes this a charming report.
