Do you need an Annual Report Designed?
If you are a listed company, with shareholders and investors, you will be required to have an annual report designed each year. The annual report will provide full public disclosure of the company's operating and financial activities for the last 12-months. The annual report forms the basis of the company's evaluation in terms of the annual operations and financial bottom line.
ANNUAL REPORT DESIGN: What is the triple bottom line?
Many annual reports focus on the triple bottom line:
- People
- Profit
- Planet
ANNUAL REPORT DESIGN: Who prepares the annual report?
Most public companies and corporations have an in-house specialist or team that prepares the annual report. The design and copywriting of the annual report are usually outsourced to design agencies such as Shift ONE digital to create a professionally written and designed annual report.
ANNUAL REPORT DESIGN: What should be included in an annual report?
The annual report should include a general description of the industry and an overview of the business, strategy, and focus for the reported year, as well as audited financial statements to show where and how money has flowed through the business.
Annual Report Design Process
Right Team
Make sure you appoint the right team from your company to gather the information required and project manage the annual report design professionally
Project Plan
You will need a detailed project plan for your annual report design, detailing who is doing what, and by when, to meet the deadline
Gather the Information
Garbage in, garbage out! Providing the right content is something that should happen all throughout the year, to avoid a mad year-end scramble
Design, Copy & Photos
Design and copywriting can commence after the written brief is received and all the content has been collated. At this point you can commission your photographer to shoot images needed
Review & Edit
After the annual report design and copy is completed, the first draft will be sent for review and edits will be applied. It's critical to allow enough time for a proper review process
Print & Publish
After final approval, the final annual report design will be sent to the printer, and / or published as a pdf or a new website for online distribution
Does Annual Report Design Matter?
Your annual report design matters because it is the physical manifestation of your corporation's work, focus, outputs, strategy and impact for the last year.
A professionally designed annual report will focus on:
- Graphic design that is professional and in your brand's corporate identity (CI) and brand identity
- Copywriting that is in the right business tone
- Composition and outlay of information in a way that visually communicates key messaging clearly
- The flow of information will contribute to understanding
- And generally, the annual report design should build investor confidence
Annual Report Design Tip 1: Set Your Objectives
Decide what the goal of this annual report, what does it need to achieve?
- Showcase new projects
- Highlight key achievements
- Emphasis values
- Introduce key team members
Annual Report Design Tip 2: Storytelling an Emotional Connection
Paper kills trees and fills landfills! Instead of printing your annual report, why not create it using digital formats that are cheaper to produce, easier to create and better for the environment!
- PDF - this file format allows you to email out your annual report easily to shareholders no matter where in the world they live
- Website Design - we can create an online version of your annual report in the form of a clickable website - this creates a great user experience for your readers and allows us to embed video and interactive content into your annual report design
Annual Report Design Tip 3: Draw it
Very often, the best way of communicating something is visually. There are many different design techniques you can use to communicate concepts that will be lost if simply written out in text:
- Infographics - help to communicate complex concepts, processes or flows in a clear, easy-to-understand way
- Icons - help to break up text and highlight key elements visually
Annual Report Design Tip 4: Go Digital
People love stories, stories create an emotional connection that will help to differentiate your company's annual report from other companies.
- Identify story themes - which themes do you want to showcase
- Identify stories that match these themes
- Identify stories from staff, suppliers, customers and investors
- Videography is the best way to capture this - you can link to these from your pdf and digital versions of your annual report
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