Annual Reports: Richard Colbourne and Peter Ty of the USA Design with Vibrancy for Shareholders

Richard Colbourne of Addison and Peter Ty of Dept. of Design – Leo Burnett Chicago create a tantalizing series of annual reports.

Reading a spreadsheet is never fun. They’re boring, wildly emotionless, and stuffy as can be. Nonetheless, they are a necessity for shareholders, accountants, chief financial officers, and others to learn about the ins-and-outs of their business. But how are they to truly absorb the information that it contains when it’s difficult to be excited by it? To Richard Colbourne and Peter Ty, the answer lies in the design of of the annual reports.

By incorporating eye-catching design, alluring typography, and simplistic data entry, Peter Ty‘s platinum award-winning work for 1871 (ABOVE) has managed to create an alluring annual report that will leave executives itching to learn more. It’s a difficult undertaking, one that is excellently executed, making one be able to understand the entirety of their business without getting a headache from starring at dull pages. As Ty explains himself, “this approach allows for quick glance of 1871’s accomplishments and the energy from their diverse community by just flipping through the front and back covers.” It certainly seems that that worked.

Also displaying an adept approach to reinvigorating the banal look of a copier place annual report is Richard Colbourne‘s work for the International Finance Corporation (ABOVE). The simplified look that emphasizes the humanistic aspect of their work enlivens the information to be readily absorbed. Furthermore, by making the report look as though it is part of a magazine spread, stockholders, clients, and the general public are poised to believe that this is not a financial organization but perhaps a design firm. It is an outstanding standard, one that will leave other companies foaming at the mouth to have similarly attractive annual reports.

Be sure to submit your absorbing new annual report designs to Graphis’ Annual Reports Competition for a chance to be featured on our website, blog, annual, journal, social media platforms and more!