Co 7 The Report Design Tool Is Best Used To
Creating an annual report isn't hard.
You just need the right templates, examples and tools to help you get started.
In this guide, you'll find:
- Beautiful annual report design templates to customize
- Awesome annual report design examples over the years
- Tips and best practices for annual report design
Let's get into it.
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9 Annual Report Design Templates to Help You Get Started
22 Annual Report Design Examples to Inspire You
5 Tips & Things to Pay Attention to
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
9 Annual Report Design Templates to Get You Started
Creating an annual report design from scratch can seem intimidating, especially if you don't have any professional graphic design experience.
Thankfully, you can still create a stunning annual report in minutes with the help of the right template. A good template can give you a head start with fully designed sections, pages and visuals that you can simply replace with your own content in a few clicks.
In this section, we've put together a list of 9 annual report templates that you can customize for your own company or organization.
Template #1: Business Annual Report Template
This modern annual report template will give your business a polished and professional look. The bright yellow color on top of a black-and-white theme helps important numbers stand out.
Use the data visualizations included in this report template, such as pictographs, data widgets and donut charts, to make data easy to read and understand.
Customize this report template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Template #2: Technology Annual Report Template
If you're looking for a sleek and trendy annual report template with a technology theme, look no further. This customizable annual report template comes packed with a creative layout, image overlays, vector icons, modern typography and stunning visuals.
Customize this report template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Template #3: Environmental Annual Report Template
Inspire your readers to care for the environment and spread awareness about nature-related topics with this green annual report template.
The breathable design of this annual report template has the perfect amount of white space, images and a customizable bar graph that you can edit to showcase your own data.
Customize this report template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Template #4: Sales Annual Report Template
Annual reports don't get more creative than this. If you're looking for an annual report design that highlights your brand's fun side, and looks nothing like a boring, traditional document, this is the ideal template for you.
Instead of numbers, this sleek, colorful sales report template comes with unique data widgets, graphs and charts that you can easily modify to show your own data.
Simply connect your Google Sheet to sync live data, upload an Excel file or type in your data manually inside the annual report editor.
Customize this report template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Template #5: Nonprofit Annual Report Template
Catch the attention of potential donors and corporate leaders with this simple and elegant nonprofit annual report template. Customize the color scheme to fit your own organization, change the typography or keep things as they are and just plug in your content.
Customize this report template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Template #6: Geometric Annual Report Template
The eye-catching color scheme on this annual report template works for most types of organizations, including businesses and nonprofits.
This annual report template has a geometric design on the cover page, and the pages inside come with pre-designed layouts, graphs, data widgets, icons and images.
Customize this report template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Template #7: Modern Annual Report Template
If you're on the hunt for a unique annual report design, this template is a great option. It has a professional look and feel perfect for modern businesses, and even comes with a customizable map that you can use to highlight geographic data.
If you're publishing an online version of your annual report, you can make the map interactive or animated inside the report editor.
Customize this report template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Template #8: Corporate Annual Report Template
Who says only creative annual reports are effective? Even a simple design, if done right, can make your brand look professional, just like with this no-nonsense annual report template.
There are a few colors you can rarely go wrong with, and classic red is one of them. This simple template comes with a customizable map, graph and data widgets.
Customize this report template and make it your own!Edit and Download
Template #9: Infographic Annual Report Template
Last but not least, why not take things up a notch and present your annual report in the form of an infographic instead of a traditional, multi-page document?
Use this professional annual report infographic template to bring your numbers to life. Make data easy to skim through and trends easy to identify.
Customize this infographic template and make it your own!Edit and Download
22 Annual Report Design Examples to Inspire You
The most common annual report design is a simple PDF, with a generic collection of numbers and data.
Then there are some annual reports that really shine, complete with digital interactivity or a unique printed design. These often become quite famous, like Vimeo's annual report from 2013 and Mailchimp's report from 2016.
Some companies even develop a second creative version of their annual report, just for online viewing purposes. These are typically called "A Year in Review" and talk more about milestones and events than financial data.
We've rounded up some of the best annual report design inspiration from recent years in various formats: online, interactive, print and video.
Example #1: Vodafone
Vodafone's 2018 Annual Report has just the right amount of interactivity to take away the boredom of a regular presentation. The hero images are large and very attractive, with animated text and transitions in between.
Navigating from one section to another is achieved with a horizontal menu and the data is displayed with strong brand colors that stand out.
This annual report is easy to look at and navigate, and is the complete opposite of boring. You could almost say it's the "perfect" annual report. You can also download the PDF version if you want to save a copy.
Example #2: Corby
Far more interesting than a bunch of static charts, Corby's 2018 Annual Report features direction-aware hover effects that are activated by your cursor movements. It's fun, colorful and definitely memorable.
Each section of the report has a unique illustration for an added creative touch. When you click on a section, the transition is a three-toned wave animation. Also, the buttons bubble when you hover over them.
The information in Corby's annual report is presented with impeccable storytelling. Instead of boring charts, they have used wonderful imagery.
Data is also presented in bite-sized chunks, which makes it easier to look at and understand. For more in-depth data, viewers can easily navigate through the links and prompts within the stories.
Example #3: Roche
Pharma giant Roche published a highly visual experience for their 2018 annual report. All the hero "videos" flow seamlessly into the content. The first video even has a swipe effect with an X-ray image of a human skull.
The navigation has buttons and scroll options, yet there is no way you can get lost in between the sections. The data is displayed using animated charts designed with the brand colors, making it hard to get bored.
This annual report isn't too creative in terms of design, but it incorporates video and animation really well.
Example #4: Old Chang Kee
Old Chang Kee's annual report for 2018 is not interactive, but it's refreshingly unique in its own way.
Although it's a printed report like many others, it comes with an added creative factor: a vintage-style paper texture background and hand-drawn illustrations that bring the early days of Old Chang Kee to life.
The charts are created in a handmade style, which gives them a unique touch. The designers also added a little extra personality to the images by making them resemble postage stamps.
This annual report stands out for its design creativity and we love that!
Example #5: Habitat for Humanity
The 2018 Habitat for Humanity annual report is the perfect example of parallax scrolling done right. Their photography is spotless and full of smiling people, which reflects their brand values.
In addition, all the information is easy to read, with large titles and text. Sections are separated by a parallax background of a branded icon illustration.
We love that this annual report is so visually rich and makes sure that it gets the intended message across clearly.
Example #6: Green Chameleon
Green Chameleon's Year in Review for 2018 is like taking a journey through time. As the months fly by, we see all the projects they have worked on.
Each item is clickable and can be looked at in detail. They all open in a new window, so don't worry about your journey being interrupted.
This annual report is defined as a Year in Review because it doesn't show any financial information about the company.
What it aims to do instead is visualize what the company worked on throughout the year. We think it's an innovative way of showing success and portraying their overall creative outlook towards interactive design.
Example #7: Oscar
When it comes to interactive years in review, Oscar offers a great example. In 2018, the insurance company published an annual report that's guaranteed to make anyone reading smile.
There are prompts to move the arrows in different directions on the screen and every movement continues the storytelling of Oscar's Year in Review.
As hands move on the screen showing different bits of information, the title at the top changes according to what's being shown. There is also a menu on the right which prompts the viewers to share the report on social media.
This report is a lot of fun and definitely one to remember. We love that the colors are well chosen and the amount of text is just right.
Example #8: Twitter
This year, Twitter shared their Year in Review in (you guessed it) a tweet!
This time, though, it's a video tweet. True to Twitter fashion — short and sweet — the video is only 38 seconds long.
365 days.
125 million hashtags.
500 million GIFs.
More @BTS_twt mentions than we can count.#ThisHappened on Twitter in 2018: pic.twitter.com/543gK41qQf— Twitter Data (@TwitterData) December 5, 2018
Just like they've done in the past, Twitter visualizes the most retweeted tweet, the most commented tweet and other Twitter superlatives.
The video is designed using Twitter's brand colors and features modern music in the background. This is one of the finest annual report examples out there that are actually "on brand."
Example #9: ABInBev
Some annual reports are short and some are simply gigantic, but the 2018 annual report by ABInBev is truly enormous.
Even though it's full of information, it doesn't feel overwhelming. Simple animations make the transitions between sections seamless.
Our favorite part is the landing page, which has a hovering map showing the favorite beer in each part of the world.
The designers at ABInBev used an asymmetric composition for the content and decorated the image sections with brand-colored rectangles. This keeps the pages interesting and in constant movement.
This is one of the best annual report examples out there for presenting a lot of information in a non-boring fashion.
Example #10: EWZ
The Swiss energy company, EWZ, offers an immersive and interactive experience with their annual report for 2017.
The welcome mat is a floating, three-dimensional illustration of a piece of land, with prompts to explore the different areas. After clicking through, you can explore further by using the sideways scrolling navigation system.
The best part of this highly visual annual report, apart from the beautiful illustrations, is the soundtrack playing in the background.
Rather than just generic music, the soundtrack is actually an ambient sound that reflects what is happening in each area of the screen.
I personally love this annual report for its creativity and interactivity.
Example #11: Elevation Church
The 2017 annual report for Elevation Church was designed to look like a pixel video game. The navigation is a vertical standard scrolling system with some simple animations that work perfectly with each other.
The colors are mute, yet agreeable, which makes it easy to scroll through the site. The design truly makes the viewer want to see more.
This annual report uses a tiny character to tell the story of how Elevation Church grew over the year. The data is presented with big numbers and simple charts, which makes it easier to read and understand.
Fun annual reports like this one are worth keeping as an example of how things can be done differently with great results.
Example #12: Weatherford
The 2017 annual report from Weatherford is far from a standard report, mainly because of its innovative, four-part vertical navigation and dynamic titles that are designed with large letters crossing over onto an image.
To enter each new section, the windows open vertically like tabs. Better yet, the reader never loses sight of the main menu and the most important sections since they remain on the left side of the screen.
We really like how the interactivity is minimal in this report, but just enough to make it different and innovative.
Example #13: REN
The Portuguese energy company, REN, published a wonderful interactive annual report in 2016. They've used animated polygonal scatter dots, which were pretty big back then. In fact, they still look good in this report.
The title of the report is "Boundless Connections" and the letters are actually part of the navigation design.
The interactivity of the report is mostly in the title and highlights. Once you enter each chapter, the content becomes more standard.
The designers created a good balance between the two, giving the report just enough interactivity to make it stand out while not forgetting the investors who just need to see the numbers.
Example #14: General Electric
Overall, GE's 2016 Annual Report has a highly professional and clean graphic design. But the best part about this report is the landing area.
There are two main sections of the annual report: Additive Manufacturing and Digital Industrial. Both sections start with a 360-degree view of a workplace with ambient sounds in the background. Around the space are clickable prompts to find out more about various services and products.
Further on in the report are more standard sections for financial data and text. There are also some interactive charts and videos along the way.
Example #15: Kickstarter
In 2016, Kickstarter published an impressive annual report full of their best projects of the year. The design is set up as a huge colorful slide deck and the large titles invite the viewer to move forward with the story.
The showcased projects are clickable and can be viewed on the Kickstarter site. The stats show the results of some of the best Kickstarter projects, from films and books to the preservation of Dorothy's ruby slippers.
This entertaining annual report is a big "thank you" to both creators and backers. In fact, you could say it's a celebration of Kickstarter.
Example #16: Flywheel
Not many annual reports offer to send you a set of temporary tattoos in exchange for an email signup. But that's exactly what Flywheel did in 2015. Their color changing report visualized both important and funny data.
They even creatively included a section saying that they received messages with the word "Beyonce" in them twice.
They did a great job of storytelling with this annual report, using images of the tattoos as illustrative section separators.
They finish the scrolling annual report with a photo of co-founder Tony Noecker getting a real tattoo of the Flywheel logo.
Example #17: Crop Trust
Crop Trust's 2014 Annual Report is full of important information about the company. Yet, it's so much more than just a standard report. We love how they've designed the report to present a lot of information in a fun way.
The first section is devoted to key figures and features unique illustrations with data hovers. Below them, you can navigate through the many different sections of the report. We particularly liked the interactive map about the Global Genebank Partnership.
There is a lot to read, but it's all very well-organized with hover tabs that open intuitively. Things like the interactive map can only be found by navigating deep into the report, so there might be more to discover.
Example #18: UZ Brussel
In 2014, UZ Brussel used patient stories to create a Year in Review. The storytelling technique is seamlessly set up on a landing page with nine vertical sections that light up as you hover over them. As each patient story opens, there's an animated hero image resembling a cinemagraph.
The data of the story is displayed below the image and looks very attractive with illustrations created in the brand colors.
Navigation is simple; readers can scroll sideways to the next patient story or click on one of the numbers at the top.
This unique way of telling a brand's Year in Review story through its users is very personalized and sends a great message.
Example #19: Shopify
Sometimes, annual reports don't need to go too heavy on the interactivity to make the information memorable or unique. Shopify's Year in Review for 2013 is a great example of that.
We appreciate how the financial and growth data is displayed with simple line illustrations that draw themselves as the page scrolls.
Following the letter from the founder, there is an animated map that uses colors to show the growth of Shopify stores around the world. The numbers grow from 0 to 82,000 in a very visual way.
Overall, this is one of the best examples of how an annual report can use simple animation to send a message with great impact. If you want to make anything like this for your ecommerce store, export Shopify data to Google Sheets and build a custom dashboard right there or use Data Studio for advanced features.
Example #20: Warby Parker
Warby Parker's 2013 Annual Report is designed like a calendar full of important events, fun facts and growth data. The boxes are grouped into monthly sections and can be highlighted according to a specific topic.
Each rectangle is clickable and when it zooms in to the center of the screen, it gives information for that specific point in time. The report is also full of hand-drawn illustrations, photographs and animations.
Some rectangles are bigger than the others, creating an uneven grid of funny or important days of the year. Like on January 4, they showcase all the misspelled words searched for instead of Warby Parker.
Example #21: Twitter
Before Twitter moved on to short 38-second annual report videos, they published this online report in 2012. It has main links to different groups of tweets: most loved, most retweeted, trends and new voices.
A notable aspect of this Year in Review is that it can be viewed in twelve different languages, which is really great.
Another unique addition is that viewers can create their own "Twitter Year in Review" by simply logging in to their account with a Vizify integration. Unfortunately, that feature isn't live anymore.
Example #22: Austria Solar
The last one on our list of annual reports is this unique printed one from Austria Solar, published in 2011. Although it's nearly a decade old now, this report is still making waves because of its innovative design.
The pages of this printed report can only be read in bright sunlight. Honestly, there couldn't have been a better design for a solar power company.
The Austria Solar annual report is one of the most creative and innovative reports of the last decade, and for good reason.
Even though most of the creative annual reports these days are digital and interactive, designs like these will always be a breath of fresh air. We would love to see more design ideas like this in the future!
5 Tips & Things to Pay Attention to
While starting with a template can save you hours of time, there are some expert tips and best practices to keep in mind if you want to design stunning and effective annual reports.
1. Always Start With an Outline
If you don't have an outline before you start designing, you'll find yourself constantly making changes to the annual report layout. This can get extremely frustrating and time-consuming, and you may even end up with an unsatisfactory design at the end.
Create an outline of the topics or pages you want to include, and list down the main points under each one. Your outline might look something like this.
This will help you finalize the structure of your business report, and you'll have a wireframe to refer to during the annual report design process.
When you finally start designing based on an outline, you won't have to worry about missing out on any important information, and constantly removing or adding pages.
2. Know Your Audience and Subject
Not all annual report designs will work for your business. You need to choose a template with a design that resonates with your audience, and helps communicate your message in the best possible way.
Think about who's going to read your annual report. Are you creating one for investors? Will it be distributed internally? Or are you looking for potential donors for your nonprofit?
The annual report design you choose should be aligned with the values of your audience. If your boss hates the color green, you might not want to use it in your report.
Similarly, if you're publishing an annual report for the healthcare industry, using colors like yellow or orange might not work as well as blue or white for communicating trust and hygiene.
With Visme's annual report maker, you can easily change the colors of your template to suit your audience's taste, as well as your own subject and theme.
3. Create an Eye-Catching Cover Page
Let's face it. No matter how hard you work on your annual report design, if the cover page doesn't look nice, it might all go to waste.
First impressions are extremely important, and if you want to get your readers excited and intrigued about the content of your report, you have to do it with a stand-out cover page.
But a beautiful cover page does more than just get your audience excited. It also makes your annual report design memorable, and the message inside impactful.
4. Stay Consistent With Your Branding
While it's perfectly okay to use an annual report template as it is, make sure it doesn't clash with your brand's visual guidelines.
Your company's branding needs to be reflected in every single visual it creates, from a social media graphic to a presentation to an annual report.
In Visme, you can upload your own brand colors, fonts and company logo, and store them to use across all your designs, not just annual reports.
Using inconsistent colors, fonts and other graphic design elements that don't go with your branding can destroy the image you've worked so hard to create over the years.
An annual report design that's consistent with your branding, however, will do wonders for reinforcing your brand values. It will also resonate much better with your readers.
5. Experiment With Creative Formats
If the thought of a bulky document full of numbers puts you to sleep, try experimenting with a different format instead. A lot of companies these days use creative formats, like infographics, to present key financial figures and company information.
The advantage of using new formats is they make your annual report look far from boring and dull. They also help you condense information into a single piece of visual so it's easy to read and understand.
You can also use data visualization tools, such as widgets and charts, to visualize numbers and statistics.
Looking for an Annual Report Software?
If you're looking for a stress-free way to design an annual report, check out Visme's full-featured annual report maker. It has a friendly interface so anyone on your team can use it, even non-designers.
It's easy to publish your annual reports online in Visme, and you can share them directly with a URL or embed them on your website.
If you want to create an offline annual report design from scratch using advanced tools, consider looking into Adobe Illustrator or InDesign. You can even use Microsoft Word to create a simple, traditional annual report with no bells and whistles.
Sign up for a free Visme account and take it for a test drive for as long as you want.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
There are some common questions you may have regarding annual reports and annual report design. Find out the answers to your questions below.
Q1. What is included in the annual report?
An annual report typically includes a brief overview of a company and its financial standing. It includes financial statements like balance sheets, cash flow and income statements, as well as the company's current stock prices.
Q2. What is the purpose of the annual report?
The purpose of an annual report is to communicate a company's financial health and standing to investors, shareholders, the government and other people who are interested in knowing more about the company's financial condition and growth.
Q3. How do you prepare an annual report?
Know the purpose behind your annual report, create an outline, find and organize your current and historical financial statements, determine the key message you wish to communicate, and finalize the design and structure of your annual report.
Q4. Who prepares the annual report?
Most annual reports are prepared internally by people from different departments, such as accounting and finance, sales and marketing. The accountant compiles data and prepares the financial statements, and marketing hands it over to the designer.
Q5. What is the difference between an annual report and a financial statement?
A financial statement, such as a balance sheet, income statement or cash flow statement, focuses on a specific part of a company's finances. An annual report looks at the overall big picture of a company's financial condition, and mostly includes some, if not all, of the financial statements.
Q6. How long does it take to write an annual report?
An annual report can take eight or more weeks to prepare, considering the time it takes to collect and compile relevant financial information, creating a draft, getting it signed by the management, sending it off for design and printing, and then proofreading it for any last-minute errors.
Q7. Does every company have to write an annual report?
All private and public U.S. companies are required to file an annual report with their state's Secretary of State, with the exception of sole proprietors and partnerships.
Q8. What is the best annual report maker?
Visme is the best annual report maker for small businesses, large enterprises and teams. It's affordable, easy to use, and full of advanced features to help you put together a great-looking and visual annual report design, and then download it in high quality.
Co 7 The Report Design Tool Is Best Used To
Source: https://visme.co/blog/annual-report-design/
Posted by: crawfordwheabion.blogspot.com
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