If you read the last Fresco blog post, you would be well aware of the fact that Annual Report design is changing. Out with the old and in with the new – now is the time to get creative and embrace these new trends and changes, in an effort to not only stay relevant but to consistently be ahead of the curve. The new rules are, there are no rules, per say, readers don’t want the ‘same old, same old’ that they have been bombarded with for years, they want to see the real you. What makes your company different? Why should we support you? What are you passionate about? What are you doing to positively impact the world? These are the kinds of things readers what to figure out, along with any other important information pertaining to that specific report, and the easiest way for them to do that is through clear, interesting, engaging and personal design.

Below are 10 basic guidelines to follow when approaching your next report:

1. Its ok to have more visuals than text, a picture tells a thousand words as they say.
2. Say goodbye to stacks of white paper filled with black text and no colour, get creative. Incorporating your brand colours is a great way to breathe life into a company report while at the same time making it easily identifiable to your intended audience.
3. Less is more, if you have the opportunity to turn a large chunk of text into a concise infographic, take it.
4. Crisp and clean or loud and bold, both have the potential to be great but whatever you do, pick one and stick to it.
5. Don’t shy away from showing your personality and company culture, make it easy for readers to form a connection with your company and a sense of loyalty will start to form.
6. Make it functional, your report should have a clear order and direction designed to limit reader confusion.
7. Leave plenty of white space.
8. Use colour blocks to group related information.
9. Give context to your statistics, numbers without a back story is one sure-fire way to send people to sleep.
10. Be purposeful with placement.

Every company is unique in some way, find your point of difference and embrace it through great design that avoids the clutter. Thinking about your next report? Contact Fresco Creative on (02) 8116 9032 and let’s talk about your next report could look like.