Annual reports: are special financial documents used to provide a summary of operations and financial standing of a company or organization. They may also include other special information about the company including its mission, future plans, profiles of key management or staff. The target audience may be investors, customers, employees, partners. Some publicly held companies are required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (U.S.) to produce annual reports.
Also charitable and nonprofit organizations and schools may publish annual reports.
The challenge with designing annual reports is to turn balance sheets and corporate mission statements into a visually appealing package.
Large companies may produce their annual reports in-house but independent freelancers may be able to get their foot in the door by approaching smaller companies and nonprofits with limited budgets. Annual reports may take a considerable amount of time to produce and several individuals or departments within a company will probably provide input (i.e. be prepared for lots of revisions) but they can also be a good source of repeat business.
Designing Annual Reports: While the company or organization supplies the content, the designer (in collaboration with the client) is responsible for arranging the content and creating an attractive, readable annual report. As with other types of multipage documents, the page composition of an annual report may incorporate some or all of the five types of visual signposts: artwork, titles, paragraph emphasis, character emphasis, and explicit navigation elements. Get an overview of the Parts of an Annual Report.
Proposals: are another type of report that companies may produce for perspective clients or investors. They may be formal or informal. Companies may also produce reports (for internal or external use) outlining plans, proposed acquisitions, research, and any number of other purposes. Depending on the scope of the report the company or organization may want a formally designed layout with charts, illustrations, or photos.
16 Categories for Design Specialization:
Finding Your Niche in Desktop Publishing
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Annual Reports, Proposals
Business Forms
Catalogs, Menus, Product Lists
Collaterals
Crafts, Creative Printing
Identity Systems
Marketing Materials
Packaging
Periodicals
Presentation Graphics
Publication Art
Publications
Self-Publishing
Signage
Web Design, Electronic Publishing
Word Processing, Resumes
Finding Your Niche in Desktop Publishing
