Annual Report Design Singapore

Annual report
design Singapore

Whether your company’s fiscal year is ending soon, or in a few months, it could be time for you to start preparing the dreaded annual report design Singapore business process as soon as possible. With a new perspective on the annual report, it doesn’t have to be such an ominous task. There are many ways to take this report from a design drag to a memorable and fun design project with improved design techniques. Moreover, you will reap the benefits of increased reading and better retention which are two plusses for your brand.

But to reap these benefits, you need to begin your annual report design plan right now. Don’t procrastinate until the report lands on your desk. Begin strategising with your team about your desired story for the year. Focus on how you will produce an annual report that will capture your audience and get them talking.

Choosing a
suitable format

The generic annual report design Singapore businesses often have in mind consists of 12 to 24 glossy pages of information in a booklet form. They also think they’re going to have lots of reading to get through. But let’s decide right from the get-go that we’re going to break from the cookie-cutter version. Although an annual report can, of course, be a booklet, there are more interesting, cutting-edge formats such as a website, an app, or producing it in both print and digital. Since your CFO may be averse to eliminating too much of the text, there’s another option for breathing originality into the report. Read the information thoroughly so that you can analyze it and learn to design more creatively. With an innovative annual report design strategy, you can make your report more visual and present the data in a digestible and engaging way.

Tables filled with numbers can be quite boring. But what would happen if those numbers were transformed into art on a page? Since annual reports are typically packed with information, there are definitely some opportunities to latch onto some of that data for a creative design element.

So, begin the conversation about the annual report early this year. Assemble your team to brainstorm concepts and ideas to create a more visual report from the outset. With a jumpstart on content planning and formulating a direction, you will be on your way to a more visually pleasing, informative, and original report.

Telling your story
with purpose

Almost every design challenge begins with a story, but especially an annual report. It tells your company’s story, recaps the developments of its past year, and points to its future aspirations. A major decision is answering the question, “What story do we want our report to tell this year?”

Although your report will include mandatory financial information, focus on the company’s story throughout the year, as well. Consider whether the year’s story was mostly about success, failure, change, learning experiences, or likely a combination of these. Consider how the year’s experiences have impacted employees, shareholders, clients, etc. Assess how this story will influence their views of the upcoming year.

Annual Report Design Singapore

The annual report design Singapore receives should be viewed as a branding device which assists your people in understanding more fully the company of which they are a part.

Philips is an example of a company which did exactly that with its 2013 annual report. The report not only included a year-in-review, but it also retold the story of Phillips’ history, even using language to support their goal such as “Read this Story.” The report was designed to not only thoroughly inform those vested in the company and its customers, but to do so in an extremely engaging way. The report is a prime example of phenomenal design and brand-building. When undertaking the process of telling your company’s story, it’s essential to consider your brand and its tone. You need to have synchrony between your company’s image and the voice of the company report design, such as light-hearted, serious, or whatever tone is consistent with your organisation.

Making data more
visually appealing 

One of the valuable tools available to you for your annual report design and other reports teeming with numbers is the infographic. As you review the data and information contained in your report draft, you can develop novel ways to showcase the data visually.

Experiment with creating various graphs or charts, and brainstorm unique ways to highlight data content in the report. Take, for example, the board composition infographic in the Sky Entertainment Company’s 2014 annual report. In contrast to using paragraph form to list the numbers, they used icons to display the board’s demographic information. Not only is this format easier to understand, it also provides an attractive visual element to draw the user into viewing the information.

Mail Chimp also has expertise in creating visual data. Its 2012 annual report featured scroll-sized data which was mixed with charts, images, and simple, clear messaging that highlighted its story of scale and growth. It provided extensive information that piqued the reader’s interest to learn more.

Bold use of
typography

Bold typography can be an absolute lifesaver when you are lacking a sufficient number of useful images. When creating bold character formations, numbers are a useful and fun element with which to work.

Experiment with ways for making characters a dominant focal point for each of the design’s pages or screens. Examine how the letter forms contrast with the space surrounding them as per the example of the APRU 2018 annual report below. Is there boldness in the scale and colour? Try out unusual or extreme treatments or typefaces.

Considered use of
negative space

Space is one of the most impactful design techniques for an annual report. Space gives the abundant information lots of breathing room. Try out margins that seem, perhaps, uncomfortably wide. A useful side effect would be allowing shareholders more room to make notes regarding content. Opening up more space in leading and text makes the report feel less overwhelming.

One example is the Uniqlo Annual Report design. Although it contains abundant text, there is sufficient space to balance the words so it feels easier to read. It is a good design technique to create a weight balance between the text and white space. A good rule of thumb is to strive for at least a ratio of three parts filled space to one part of white space. Do not include margins or edging in the ratio. Keep in mind that empty space usually feels heavier than text.

Thinking in
chunks

Every iota of information in your annual report should be presented and linked in a way that facilitates easy understanding. A complex document like an annual report can be broken down into chunks of information, or chapters, which fit and flow naturally. For print projects, the use of a common colour theme in order to connect pages or designing on spreads accomplishes this goal. Shopify and Upstream are two examples which exemplify this way of addressing information. These companies focus on making sure each piece of information lives within a contained space. They use colour-coded information, scrollable pages, and screens that do not require users to continue to the next page in order to make every fact easier to understand and digest. This method paints a clear picture for the user as they read through the screen or booklet pages. The chunk-style approach creates a distinct visual organisation. The user can easily skim the information or move through it without reading it line-by-line.

Focusing on the front
and back cover

The reality of the situation is that management may prefer a more traditional annual report design consisting of text and simple tables. In this case, a design focusing only on the book’s front can be a satisfactory option.

By designing an exceptional cover and introductory pages that tell a story before introducing the numbers, you can still showcase your report. Gap Inc. used this approach in its 2013 report. It started with 19 chunk-stye information pages regarding the family of brands, featuring bold text and images, prior to its 100 or so page standard report.

This combination of design and function is appealing to many companies that favour corporate information be dispersed in a more traditional form. In addition, it presents a format which could be used in various ways. For example, the opening pages could also be used in marketing and promotion, while omitting the financial specifics.

Annual report design
Singapore

In many cases, your management may insist on a traditional annual report consisting of text and simple tables. In this case, a design focusing only on the book’s front can be an option.

By designing an exceptional cover and introductory pages that tell a story before introducing the numbers, you can still showcase your report. This combination of design and function is appealing to many companies that favour corporate information be dispersed in a more traditional form. In addition, it presents a format which could be used in various ways. For example, the opening pages could also be used in marketing and promotion, while omitting the financial specifics.