17 Jan, 2020

Traditional annual reports are hardly engaging. Boring figures and lengthy tables are just the beginning. The snooze fest also continues through bland colour schemes and poor structure.

Times have changed. Gone are the bulky, lengthy and mundane annual reports. Those reports are not turned into visual reports. Visual reports are annual reports that are visually enriched. Now, a powerful tool for fostering trust between investors, visual reports are extremely impactful.

Visual reports are pleasing to the eye, thanks to its storytelling element, digital format (digital report), message delivery and creative visuals.

The key to getting a great visual report designed is its visual hierarchy and brand consistency. The header text, bullet points, fonts and images within the report all work towards improving engagement.

Reflecting the company’s branding withing the report is paramount. Branded surfaces, logos and colour schemes all create a consistent look.

Let’s look at some more visual report strategies that can make any annual report visually dazzling.

1. A title page that attracts

A no-brainer when it comes to creating a visual report, this strikes the right note with the viewer. A title page with a clear title, an eye-catching image, and a beautiful report design always works.

A picture with a clean background, and perfect image-to-text relationship, works best.

The title page’s design must be consistent with the annual report colour palette or layout.

2. Infographics explain timelines

Statistics that highlight the business impact and business growth can be shown using infographics. When a key piece of information is paired with a relevant visual, it quickly grabs attention.

Good annual report designers will ensure an infographic is made part of a company’s annual reports. A visual report without a visually appealing infographic is incomplete. Add to those, tables, charts, graphs, and customized fonts.

3. Inspire using quotes

Inspirational quotes are incorporated by brands in social media marketing. Quotes are said to increase engagement. Making use of relatable quotes by prominent personalities builds trust within the visual report.

Better yet, get the company leadership to write or share quotes that inspired them. A personalized quote can inspire employees and add a touch of emotion. These quotes can be added with distinct typography.

4. Real pictures build trust

Incorporating well-placed real-life images of company personnel works wonders. Adding stock photos work as well.

Many a time a viewer will skim through the report and treat pictures as only fillers. Stock photos, therefore, don’t really retain attention for long. Real images are emotive and makes the audience stick around for a bit longer.

The images represent the core principles of the company’s brand. So, the images simply remove the curtain over the hardworking employees at the company. Captions describing a company activity, volunteer work or highlighting team achievements give the visual report a personal touch.

Images can be presented as scrolling slideshows (also called glide shows), with subtle animations added to it. Text blocks work well too.



A visually appealing annual report can only be designed by a top annual report design agency.