Noblesse oblige
Every year, TD Cascade designs a good number of annual reports. Creating annual reports is an important specialty of TD Cascade. In fact, given our background, we are unique when it comes to designing annual reports. We combine a thorough knowledge of information design with our vision of corporate design. More than any other means of communication, creating annual reports requires an analytical eye and methodical approach, as well as an eye for detail and a very precise way of working. Because several people with different expertises and responsibilities are involved in making the annual report, thorough preparation, tight planning and good mutual communication are of great importance. We therefore keep a firm grip on the direction from beginning to end.
Noblesse oblige. Our name in the field of annual reports naturally means that we closely follow all relevant developments, and then make them our expertise. The three developments that have had the most impact on the publication strategy, content and design of the annual report are:
- From print and PDF to an interactive annual report website
- The annual report as a corporate communication tool
- CSR and sustainability (integrated reporting)
1. From print and PDF to interactive annual report website
Will the target group receive a representative "book" or a handy online tool from which all the information of interest to the user can be interactively extracted? There are plenty of arguments for both options, but let's face it: the beautifully printed annual report with hardcover, die cuts and spot varnish in a luxury storage box with ditto shipping packaging is far behind us. Like almost all means of communication, annual reports are almost exclusively distributed digitally. The technical development of publishing software has made the production process much more efficient. Another advantage of so-called Digital or Online First publishing is the possibility of continuous reporting, and in addition to the annual report from a single online database, the half-yearly and quarterly figures can also be published at any time.
2. The annual report as a corporate communication tool
Annual reports have long ceased to be just a balance sheet and income statement. In addition to the demand for financial figures, the annual social report made its appearance in the 1980s. This accounted for personnel policies. But what has really been influential is the development of the brand. Companies and organizations have become institutions with a story that extends far beyond the offering or service. Without that story, the company or organization has no name and no meaning, and really no right to exist. The annual report is ideally suited to tell this story. And so the annual report no longer became the responsibility of only the finance department and the accountant, but the communications department took the lead. The annual report became the annual shop window in which the clearest possible picture of the organization, its ambitions and future plans could be presented.
3. CSR and sustainability
A third development with major implications for the annual report is the legally regulated 'obligatory' attention to our environment, initially designated by the term CSR, then by the 3 Ps of People, Planet, Profit, but ultimately evolving into the all-encompassing term sustainability. Sustainability has become an industry with its own consultancies and ditto reports, and is now embedded in almost every company in both policy and process terms. This has led to sustainability/sustainability being inextricably linked to the functioning and performance of the company and, as such, integrated into the annual report figures and facts. Hence the term Integrated Reporting.
The implications for publishing strategy, content and form(s)
The above developments have led to the current annual report, offline but especially online, looking very different from what we were used to. The annual report has become a versatile and dynamic-looking corporate communication tool with which much more corporate information can be communicated than just the presentation of the financial statements. As a result, the annual report also reaches many more readers than just the legally and financially concerned stakeholders. With such a large number of choices, the professional advice of an experienced design agency is therefore certainly not an unnecessary luxury.
Transparency and design
The main requirement for annual reports has been and continues to be transparency. In our current society, concepts such as "disclosure" and "sustainability" have corresponding implications for the concept of transparency. Transparency means clarity about the facts behind the numbers, or disclosure. This, of course, is the client's responsibility. Design technically speaking, however, we can promote the required transparency, starting with a clear structure and logical arrangement of the information. With the help of graphs, diagrams, interactive infographics and value creation models, we make figures and processes easier to understand. And through clear design and writing, both linguistically and tone-of-voice, difficult texts are made more readable and accessible even to the uninitiated. Illustrations, photography, animations and film give the story 'color'. Moreover, they provide depth on the one hand and 'lightness' on the other. After all, the annual report is about more than just one year's performance. It also opens doors to the next year and the years beyond. Ultimately, after all, it is about the long term and the continuity of the company.
Beyond design
Design is the core competence of TD Cascade. The most widely used tool for this is/was Adobe InDesign. In addition, our publishing partners f19 from Eindhoven and Tangelo from Utrecht have each developed their own tool especially for annual reports and similar reports. Working with these tools requires the following four competencies: 1. devising a reporting strategy, 2. content creation, 3. working with CMS, and 4. web-based design. Not many other agencies can say they have this expertise.
But just understanding design and the latest techniques is not enough. Clients who want to be assured of a timely annual report that fits within their own communication environment also make demands with regard to: the monitoring of consistency in terms of themes and appearance, the efficiency and effectiveness of the process organization, the guarantee of confidentiality during the production process, and of course the possibility of making last-minute changes. Especially the latter is often forgotten "at the beginning" when commissioning, but turns out to be the most important reason to have a good working relationship "at the end" right before the deadline.
In conclusion
Creating an annual report can be structured process-wise in several ways. The choice of process depends on the objectives, wishes and possibilities of the client. This makes every choice, every assignment customized. And because we have more than 25 years of experience in information design (then called document design) and have been producing online annual reports for more than 8 years, as well as working with the market leaders in adjacent disciplines from the outset, we can bring any project, regardless of size and complexity, to a successful conclusion. In summary, you can turn to TD Cascade for the following advice and work:
- Advice on strategy and form
- Project Management
- Choosing partners with different, complementary expertise
- Web design and user experience
- Content analysis and processing
- Concept development and design
- Word processing and final editing
- Publication and implementation of the corporate communications program