Time to take your annual report to the next level?
An annual report today is so much more than just numbers and financials. For many companies, it is one of the most important tools for describing the journey ahead, the purpose, the vision and the core business to an increasingly wide audience. This in turn places new and tougher demands on design, layout and accessibility.
Increasingly comprehensive
A first observation is that annual reports are getting thicker. This is partly due to the fact that there are more rules to comply with, but mainly because many companies are putting more effort and energy into the front end and using more pictures, illustrations and explanatory infographics. This is to give the target audience a clear picture of the business and to be able to absorb all the important facts and messages in an easily accessible way.
"Today, it is not unusual for an entire spread to be devoted to a nice picture with a big quote and a short text describing, for example, the vision, purpose or business concept of the company," describes Niclas Bergenblad, Creative Director at Navigator.
Easier to absorb
The increased focus on accessibility means that the design needs to be well thought out and anything that can be perceived as complicated should be supported or facilitated by simplifying graphics. Language is also affected. It is important to write and describe so that everyone understands.
"The annual report is a publication that is often skimmed through to get a quick, overall picture of the company. That's why it's particularly important to write clear headlines and preambles, that texts are divided up using subheadings and that images and illustrations have descriptive captions," says Niclas.
Broader target group
Describing clearly is important not least because the annual report should appeal to many. Most companies and organizations today have broadened the perspective from only trying to appeal to the capital market to also include employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders as target groups for the annual report. It is not uncommon for the annual report to be seen as one of the organization's most important brand carriers, helping to build long-term trust in the company both externally and internally.
Concrete tips
The Swedish Communicators have produced a list of five tips for those who work with annual reports, which we are happy to promote and which you can find here "5 tips for those who work with annual reports". As a complement to this, we are happy to add three more tips with a focus on design and accessibility.
- Think long-term - Develop the annual report over time where you have a clear goal for each step and perhaps reflect the business from different perspectives from year to year. One year you might add detailed customer cases. Another year you might include interviews with employees from different parts of the business.
- Test accessibility - If possible, appoint a reference group within the company with whom you check models, illustrations and texts to ensure that they are clear and accessible.
- Get outside help - Work with a communications agency that can help you further develop your annual report. Even if you don't want to outsource the entire production, there are great benefits in getting help with, for example, design layout, reviewing texts or creating illustrations.
Smooth and secure process
Every year, Navigator produces between five and ten annual reports and sustainability reports for our clients. We have a process that makes both the creative work and the practical process smooth and safe. Here you can find some examples.
Last year, we at Navigator won a prize together with Alligator Bioscience for having produced "Sweden's Best Annual Report" according to Nasdaq, the Swedish Society of Financial Analysts, FAR and Sweden's communicators. Read the jury's motivation.
If you want help taking your annual report to the next level! Feel free to contact us.
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