Research into the company

ACCOR
Gathering look and feel elements from their previous marketing. Their logo has changed over the past few years and i find it is very simple and clean, consequently their design has slightly changed along with it. I want to continue the blue, white and grey elements and hopefully produce something unique.

Logo

Website - about the company

Facebook cover pages

Research

Inspiration

Annual reports seem all to have a similar structure, however some companies do things a little differently. They often try and make their annual report as interesting as possible and unique to their cause.

Some I have found that are interesting...

When we come to infographics its another story. Some people stick to the standard graphs while others go outside the box and take a further step with the information and develop something crazy and new. Some examples....

Trying to figure out what I will do for my own design at the moment, there is plenty of inspiration out there its just a matter of keeping every page in the same style and meeting the requirements for the client. Thinking cap time!

Annual Reports

What makes a good Annual Report

• Simplicity: Clear crisp communication
• Focus on strategy: Summarise your main elements at the front of the book
• Cut the clutter
• Sum it up: Use information graphics, callout text to help tell your story visually and at a glance
• Speak plainly: Use plain language. Avoid jargon

Choosing two I like, and two I don’t like - was quite the challenge as the reports supplied were for the majority pretty good.   

Obviously following on from the check list for a good report some come out above others. 

One that stands out is definitely the ADIDAS report - it is simple, focused and clear yet interesting. Fills all the criteria!

PHILLIPS is also nice but could use a little vamping up to make the report more engaging.

Some that I don't believe are that great have some pages that aren't totally horrible. This includes the ACCOR, CHINA TELECOM. 

Slowly deciding on what to choose at the moment. Leaning towards the ACCOR report as I feel it has potential. Yet to choose which page to redo for this assessment.

Completion

Sent to the printers!

This is just a quick look at what the final layout looks like for each page. After checking my own work over and over for simple mistakes that might have been overlooked for some reason and feeling successful in my efforts I have confidently sent this to the printers.

Back page...

Decisions decisions

After printing out all the pages of the magazine and fixing up the nitty-gritty bits and pieces that weren't noticeable until print of the layout and scale came into play, the back page is in thought. 

A blank back page seems like the easy way out but I also feel like it will just allow no distraction from the magazine itself. The back page should not be seeking attention so if anything it must be minimal if not blank. Something that subtly hints the reader back to the magazine and articles itself. Every issue would maybe change according to the image on the cover but the basis will remain the same.

I have played with placing a pattern on the back, an ad, a simple graphic, some text but not sure if any of those really work. I feel they just become distracting from the magazine.

I was playing around with textures and graphics and ads but felt that the actual mast head would work well as a texture. The 'o' works as a bulls eye and I thought this to be very interesting to the readers.

I played with different tints of black and bleed but came to the conclusion it works best on this particular issue without bleed (runs with the style of the magazine) and with a tint of 10%. Subtly hinting at the masthead as a texture.

Page Numbers

Consideration

Page numbers can be crazy bizarre to quite simple.
Looking at other sources had me considering what I wanted to use. Some can be so outrageous it is almost unnecessary but others work them in very subtly. I don't want to distract my readers with the page numbers but I want them easily found and legible. 

    

     

Most magazines spreads have the basic structure of placement of page numbers. I.E. close to a corner and balancing the page.

For my own layout I tried a few variations with the page numbers.

Having them at the top corners along with the running issue number and tag line but felt that simply placing them at the bottom of the page created a balance that wasn't too distracting. Having them at the top of the page wasn't as easy to read and distracted from the article itself. The above screen shot is what I have gone with, thus far.