Research into Layout and Design

Looking into what other designers have produced for reports both design and layout will help my inspiration and idea production when it comes to producing work for the clients at OHP. Seeing what current trends are out there in terms of layout and design will also help keep the report looking contemporary as well as professional which will benefit the team at OHP as having nice visuals will always entice more people to come and look at what is in the body copy. 

Having worked in catalog design before i know how nice it can be to design spreads that open up into either new sections of a report or catalog or are just there to make the design of the print stronger. Below is an example of how design can be built into a spread to show the opening of a new section. Having spoke to Fran the report will not be 36 pages long as suggested in the brief but if the content is less and i have room i will try and include these into my report design as i feel it really makes the report visually stronger. Or i could mock up a designed spread and show to fran and explain the positives of having nice visuals such as these inside such a content filled report. 

Here is a couple of spreads from the BP annual report and they have chosen to use just the two colours throughout to help drive the brands identity. This could be something i conisder although the actual logo for OHP is nowhere near as recognizable or effective as the BP's therefore it may not work as well. This is still of good example of making a successful report through the use of 2 colour tones and nice imagery.  Another key issue i picked up from last years report were the lack of high res and well executed photos, (something i have already put forward to Fran). Having nice imagery helps break up the endless amounts of text that is often found in annual reports so having a nice visual whether it be an illustration of photograph helps split up pages and gives the user a rest in terms of reading whilst being able to look at an image. An idea would also be to have images bleeding of the page like this one below as it give the image all the space which i feel works well. 

 Below shows an info graphic that uses different colours to show different sections which is something i will doing in my designs, although i want to try and make the info graphics as interesting as possible. Also on these spread the use of a different weight or colour for headings and sub headings also helps break up the page for the reader as just having the text all in one weight and colour will just bore its user, something that would be a massive negative in terms of design.

 Below is a contents page from an annual report for ANTHON B NIELSON and i feel this design as minimalist and simplistic as it is i feel it works nicely and looks visually pleasing, as well as benefiting people with visual impairments! here is an example of where i could introduce colour into my design by having either the text or number in one of the colour pallets i have looked at. Researching even the finer details in a report such as the contents page will help my designs as i really want to produce something that the clients are really excited to put on their shelves and by considering options for even pages like this will help me along the way to producing exciting visuals. 

Above is a layout i thought looked well designed. The minimalist page on the left with the body copy works well with the full image of a skyline on the right. The coloured tab in the right hand corner is a common method of showing a certain section in reports and catalogs and it helps the reader to scan to an area that is relevant to them. This could be something i can add into my report design although having looked through last years report there doesnt seem to be enough possible sections for me to include this idea as it wouldn't work.