A masterclass in bringing complex, less-than-exciting information to life, from The Partners

It’s hard to make things like “asset management” sound fun, but while to us they remain baffling and vaguely sinister-sounding; The Partners has at least made it look good. The agency recently finished up a project for Investec Asset Management, designing a journal focusing on its Chinese markets to launch round the time of Chinese New Year.

The work takes a rather dull subject and brings it to life beautifully, showcasing a series of white papers from the institute’s finance and market experts and taking inspiration from Chinese culture to add flair and poise. “We came up with a central idea that conveys the potential reward of investing in China – ‘A tale of good fortune,’” The Partners explains. “For centuries in Chinese culture, red has represented good fortune, so we adopted it as our signature colour. This was a good way to differentiate this edition from the previous two journals – both of which were entirely black and white, inspired by Investec’s iconic zebra mark.”

The agency commissioned paper-cutting artist Lorraine Nam to create a hand-cut illustration for each of the nine chapters in the book. The final piece is housed in a red envelope, which The Partners says is a Chinese symbol of good luck.