Where is sustainability report design headed and how bright is the future in terms of design?

One of the most effective ways to cut across and make a mark with billions of consumers and clients all at once, is by showcasing a powerful statement through a contemporary and thought provoking sustainability report design. Besides adding to the overall credibility of your organization, a sustainability report design enables you to automatically share numbers, vital information through your research and analysis, and gets the attention of potential business partners and investors, who can go on to become assets for your company, and the vision that it entails.

Being active on social media and a powerful agency getting in the numbers through robust advertising is all ok, but the real deal maker can be the sustainability report design, which builds a greater level of trust between you and the consumer. While advertising and marketing is more of a one-sided party, where you blow your own trumpet, a sustainability report design carries inspiration and awe, as it shows the number of lives touched and enriched due to your organization’s endeavor for the greater public good.

Before we get into the future of annual report design, we need to shed light on the 3 ingredients or pillars that make an annual report design a strong one.

Stunning Design

Engaging Content

Important Information

These 3 factors can either take an annual report or sustainability report to the next level, or can totally destroy it, if not done right.

Now, about the FUTURE! In terms of design, content and creative routes, agencies have taken a keen interest in delivering the very best of work to organizations on a global scale. Whether it is a small organization, a non-profit one, or an MNC, annual and sustainability report designs are taking on a new edge, which has never been seen before.

There was a time, when annual reports were not taken as seriously, and a bunch of facts, figures and numbers were printed on endless pieces of papers, which lacked a sense of design, content placement and engagement. It was more of a one-way street, where companies just showcased the yearly successes, challenges and achievements without making it look appealing.

This approach however has become dated now, as organizations are investing more and more each year in rolling out the best of sustainability report designs. The new-age approach involves:

1. 1.Making Data Accessible: Gone are the days when organizations got printed brochures sent out in the name of sustainability report designs. Many companies today are getting offline reports, as well as digital ones being sent out to the stakeholders, in an attempt to display their success stories, that goes beyond their corporate world.

1. 2.A BIG Play On Aesthetics: From infographics to larger than life images with subtle content placing and visual appeal make for a great sustainability report design, and this is exactly where we are heading towards in the years to come.

1. 3.Design Is What Defines: Brands are focused on design now more than ever, as it goes to define their image, their mission and goal. Right from what the logo of their brand signifies, to the kind of illustration used in expressing their reports, design plays a crucial role, and will continue to do so, in the future too!

1. 4.The Storyteller: Sustainability or annual reports are no longer a number crunching game. While, yes, that is still a part of it, it is so much more than just that. Organizations use design and quality images that tell a STORY, and evoke a certain emotion on behalf of the reader, or the target audience. Interesting anecdotes, employee experiences, testimonials, and bytes from consumers and people involved in the process makes annual reporting a whole new ball game.

1. 5.It’s All In The Cover: A portrait speaks volumes, and so is the case with an annual report design, that encapsulates everything in one single frame. Agencies do a thorough research and assessment before narrowing it down to a particular cover for the report. It can’t just be ANYTHING or ANYONE. A lot of thought goes into deciding what goes on the front, and what ultimately becomes the face for that report.

From writing intriguing content, to being relevant in all aspects, annual and sustainability report designing is a world that becomes more enriched with each passing year. Organizations have taken a whole new turn in showcasing their company’s strengths, while still staying vulnerable in the public eye.

Renure Brands, a part of Renure Group, is a B2B Communication and Design agency that came into existence in 2015.