2004 Annual Report

“With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown,” notes a Chinese proverb. Since 1987, MetroCorp Bancshares has blossomed into the largest Asian-owned bank in the Southwest—now appealing to a much broader range of stakeholders than its original, exclusively-Asian clientele. As its prospective clients change, Origin has helped MetroCorp’s annual report follow suit. Balancing its Asian heritage with a Texas focus, the book’s Opening Doors theme spoke to clientele with elegance and effectiveness.

2004 Annual Report

This one was pretty—and pretty smart. The Opening Doors theme heralded the bank’s expansion into mainstream regional consumer markets. But we had to be careful. The bank had made a name for itself to date by engineering personal, innovative and culturally-sensitive financial products and services. We had to communicate that the institution was building from this strong and lucrative foundation to leverage its credibility for the benefit of other markets, not simply abandoning its base for greener pastures.

2004 Annual Report

Origin’s designers made the coalescence of Texan and Asian imagery look easy. And why not? Both China and Texas are known for being bigger than life. From cowboys to dragons, the piece tastefully brought the two divergent cultures together through local community and the need for flexible, reliable business and personal banking services.