We write and design Annual Reports to become must-reads for your stakeholders, so they invest more.
We get it. Annual Reports can be frustrating. From the sheer bulk of information, to the design requirements, to it highlighting the biggest parts of your work, none of that is easy. That's why we are here to help.
But yes, we know you're here for the price too.
So let's get that out of the way.
pricing
Basic
$
4990
Best value for money for organisations in the public service, non-profit sectors
- Conceptualization of ideas
- Design and layout of 30 to 40 pages
- Illustrations across the report, if suitable
- No printing
Premium
$
9990
Best for investment outcomes for listed companies and businesses
- Understanding of your industry and your peers to see how they are communicating
- Conceptualization of ideas to see how to best garner more investment for your work
- Design and layout of 30-40 pages with 80 pages of financial statements
With Printing
$
14900
Best for compliance for organisations and listed companies who need to send reports
- Design and illustrations
- Liaising with the printer for choice of paper (don't estimate how bad paper can make your company look cheap)
- With printing of 200 copies for your stakeholders
Why pay?
Annual Reports seem so boring that we miss the opportunity they provide.
Ever wondered why the Big Tech companies focus so much on what they write in their annual shareholder letters? Because it adds a value exponential to their communication.
So yes, we went to study what the best did so you can do it too.
In Singapore, they do have some pretty kickass annual reports too.
Share insight, not just information.
The Hour Glass' is one company we've always admired. Every year, they don't just share information.
They share insight. The writing then proceeds to form the backbone for the rest of the reader's engagement with the book, helping people to trust what's being said and to want to give more of their money, business, investments, to The Hour Glass.
Well, at least that's what I did.
The best Annual Reports help readers move from 'how-to', to 'how to think'.
For example, in DBS' 2023 Annual Report, amidst the global consensus on a slowing China, DBS continued to write 'Even with a slowing China, Asia’s structural growth story is very much intact.' It encouraged people to think differently about the region, particularly with a lot of doom and gloom over the unattractiveness of the wider Asian region.
Many annual reports make the mistake of just highlighting their achievements, without necessarily helping readers have an 'aha' moment, which convinces them about the further credibility of the organisation they are reading into.
Substance comes first, skin comes on later.
Great annual reports focus on having something to say, before beautifying it.
Just take this OCBC Annual Report, which won the Business Times' Annual Report of the Year. They had a strong big idea of their rebrand as One Group, which they wove throughout their report.
Why Annual Reports are so hard
Here's why you're cracking your head about your Annual Report.
Project management
How do you keep things on time, on target, and on scope? Especially with regulators scrutinising your annual report? This is where you need agencies that are comfortable working under pressure.
The bulk of information
We know. It's crazy to compile everything you've done in a year, in a single document. You have to think what you have to include, remove, and possibly risk offending some colleagues whose stuff you've removed.
What to write
Let's not get started about what you're supposed to write.
An annual report can feel like writing a book, with the hundreds of pages resulting in you stuck, at what you should actually say in those pages given.
Here's how to DIY your Annual Report (Easily)
Yes, we know. You don't always have the luxury of asking someone else to do it.
1. Know what you can do
The annual report comprises 3 parts - conceptualising, writing, and designing. Conceptualising is coming up with the theme. Writing, is summarising and putting together all the information. Design, is putting a fancy skin on it. What can you do on your own?
2. Break it down
If you're on a tight budget, the easiest way is to see what you can do, and outsource the rest. There are some parts like design that will need a professional to lay it out in Adobe InDesign, and Photoshop. Outsource those parts so you can save on your costs, and do what you can on your own.
3. Keep track of timelines
Annual reports are sometimes regulatory requirements, and you need them out by a certain timeline so you don't get fined by the regulators. You can keep track with a Kanban board on Notion, so that everyone is on the same page.
4. Get a team
This is a big project. Don't kid yourself thinking that you can do it on your own. If you try, you will fail, really badly. We don't want that to happen for you. Ask someone to help you along. This is by far the easiest way forward.
But okay, you want an agency.
Here's what we heard from customers about past vendors.
Poor writing
- 'The writing sounded like something from ChatGPT, and it didn't resonate with me.'
- 'The writing had lots of grammar and spelling errors like 'I is, we does'.
- 'The writing was boring. It almost became a run of the mill listing of events in chronological order.'
Design misses details
- 'We've had poor alignments on paragraphs.'
- 'There were pages where the font sizes were too small or not the same'.
- 'The design looked like something I could do myself on Canva.'
Professionalism
- 'It's so hard to get in touch once you hand them your money'
- 'The account manager looked like someone who had just graduated.'
- 'The agency was not ethical about paying freelancers the right amount'
That's why we decided to be a simple and effective agency.
We've introduced a way to managing your annual report that makes you tear out your hair less, and help you to finish it faster.
We are an agency you can rely on
We are an agency that works. It 'just works'. A little like Apple. Plug and play. No fuss, no nonsense, no extra tinkering. Work with us, and it will be simple and easy because of how we structure the whole process, and how experienced we are.
We simplify the complex work
Writers structure complex ideas and concepts, and make them simple and easy to understand. We know that the sheer amount of information to work through can be difficult, and that's why we have great writers who can work with you on them.
We are lean, and mean (Not that kind of mean).
We are a small team. That means that we attend to your queries fast, and effectively. There's no multiple layers of approval we need to get, just to get something done. This means everything turns over much faster, for you to review.
Don't just believe what I say.
Test your agency and tell them to mock it up.
Let us give you an example with what we did for the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF).
Step 1. We tried understanding their previous design choices
IBF approached us to do their annual report. We studied their previous annual reports to understand what their previous style choices were.
We got on a call with them to understand what they didn't like about their previous annual report, and what they wanted to see in future. They gave us a strong reference by showing the Google Diversity Reports, which allowed us to better understand what they wanted.
Step 2. We then came up with some initial concepts for us to mock up.
We started bouncing around some initial concepts based on what they told us. They talked about their desire to be modern, and to also address the issues of Artificial Intelligence and sustainability that were emerging in banking.
We finally built it around this idea of 'Countless Ways Forward'.
Step 3. We then continued weaving in strong design elements throughout the text.
For example, following the previous motif of cascading lines, we used it to integrate the key highlights for the IBF.
We congruently tied together the insights inside their report with the same design elements of white space, header images, and clean fonts.
Here's another concept we did for Netlink.
This time, we started with their words.
We first tried to understand their theme for the year, breaking down the different words they used. We realised that they wanted to give the means for residents of Singapore to truly achieve their wildest dreams through connectivity. This didn't just mean talking to their friends abroad, or watching high speed Netflix (though Squid Game is definitely important).
It meant that they could achieve their ideas for a startup in their home.
Next, we found some references.
We then went to find some appropriate references from places like Pinterest so that we could base our own designs off those.
Note: It's not always about making the best design, but finding a strong, coherent concept that ties everything together.
Concept first, then design follows.
We built out the design based off the concept.
Using the concept of fibre, and how it connected everything together, we used a single line to illustrate every single graphic. This was akin to how fibre connected every network together.
We were proud of this work because of how it demonstrated a very human approach to technology, in the face of the rising discontent against tech's role on rising inequality.
We were also very glad at how we were able to combine alot of information into accessible graphics, like the ones below.
How we work to deliver the annual report
Here's why we are able to deliver reliably, and more smoothly than others.
1. First Alignment
Congrats! You'd like to be our client. We meet you within 3 days face to face, to understand your needs. We interview key stakeholders and take over the collateral so that we can start building a moodboard for you.
2. Moodboard Aligned
Using a moodboard, we gather inspiration from different sources to mock-up what it is you want. We then arrange a meeting and hear your feedback so that we can get alignment on the eventual design.
3. Weekly Meetings
We schedule weekly meetings as we know that email ping-pongs to lock down meeting dates can often be frustrating! During these meetings, we have a working agenda that moves meetings effectively.
4. Kanban Managed
We use Notion, a Kanban board to lay out all the tasks, and manage them in one central location. It helps you, and our team to be clear about what the status of each task is.
5. Draft Out
Within the timelines you give us, we give you the drafts that you can see and feel and touch, so that we can hear your feedback and improve on the designs that you have asked for.
6. Project Complete
After every project finishes, we throw a party! Because you deserve it :) We know that annual reports can be a culmination of the highlights of the year, and we want to celebrate that with you.
We take you through OaksPlus' Annual Report, so you can know what to expect from your own design agency.
Step 1. Understand the client's intent for the Annual Report
OaksPlus was celebrating their 40th Anniversary, a big milestone as a preschool. We interviewed Anaqi, the social media executive to get a clearer idea of what he wanted to see highlighted. Then,
- We created the moodboard, so that they could pick out the references that they enjoyed. We probed them about what exactly they enjoyed about that particular reference. Why didn't they like others? This helps you, the client to truly articulate what it is you like and dislike.
- We then created a series of concepts based off their mood boards. Good design agencies come up with concepts that encapsulate your brand, what you stand for now, and what you'd like to show for the future in your annual report.
Step 2. Mock up the first few pages to ensure you're aligned
I love giving this analogy to clients. You don't want us to fully build the toilet in your home, only for you to realise you absolutely hate how the toilet looks. That's why you build the first few parts of the toilet first. In the same way, good design agencies start by mocking up the first few pages and send them to you, so that you can give initial feedback, before they build out the whole annual report.
With OaksPlus, the first pages we did immediately had feedback, which we used to improve the rest of the look for the report.
Step 3. Build in fortnightly meetings to ensure that you're on track
The biggest factor in success is a regular stream of meetings. It's better to arrange first and to cancel, than to arrange meetings when things go awry. That may be too late. With OaksPlus, having fortnightly meetings ensured the eventual success of the project, as we regularly went through their thoughts on niggling details (such as whether a picture had enough light), and this was important in ensuring the success of the project.
What past clients say
Former CEO, University of Nottingham's Students Union
I am confident that John's future clients would find his passion, wisdom and courage to raise difficult questions helpful.
Social Media Executive, OaksPlus
The team at Media Lede were good at helping us to conceptualise our work, and to bring out the sense of celebration we wanted with our 40th anniversary Annual Report through their illustrations. I would highly recommend them for their work with annual reports.
Tell us how we can help.
Here's another case study of a school yearbook
MINDS, a charity serving those with special needs, was making their first ever annual yearbook. There was also a tight timeline of 2 months, compared to the usual 4 months most organisations take to finish a project of this complexity.
We delivered reliably, on time, and on scope.
To keep the project on track, we used a Kanban board to track the different tasks and to help the teachers to be aware of what tasks were still outstanding.
To prevent overwhelm, we scheduled regular meetings to share what was done well, and what else could be improved.
Stop struggling with your Annual Report.
It really doesn't have to be that difficult.
Aww, if you're shy, you can drop us a line too :)
You can Whatsapp us at +659817 9107 or put a message below. We will get back in 12 hours.