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volume 5, number 4
Producing an Annual Report? Five Tips You Need Now
from The Team at see see eye
#1 – Start NOW. Yes, it seems early and the final numbers won’t be in for a while so you’re not 100% sure of what you’ll want to talk about, but trust us on this one. You’ll usually have an idea of how things are going and if you do need to adjust course a bit later, a firm well-versed in annual reports can help you deal with any necessary changes. Unforeseen events can negatively affect the timeline; staying ahead of the game lessens the impact.
#2 – Work with a firm that has well-rounded annual report expertise. Okay, we realize this will come off as a blatant plug for see see eye, but seriously: any ‘ol design firm will not do for a piece as important as this. Your annual report team should know how to best get messages across to your audience and ways various design techniqes impact readers. It should go without saying that with a deadline-driven project of this magnitude, a firm grasp of scheduling, production, financials and printing is a must.
#3 – Choose a printer with annual report experience and more than adequate equipment. It’s imperative that the printer understand the tight schedules inherent in producing and mailing annual reports and that they have backup equipment in case a press should fail.
#4 – Think about paper early. Steadily increasing regulatory requirements have driven page counts – and therefore paper costs – upward in recent years. It’s wise to choose paper as soon as possible; prices in the past couple of years have gone up regularly. If yours is one of the many annuals printing in March the risk of your preferred paper being out of stock increases as your print date nears.
#5 – Schedule photo shoots early. Not only will it be easier to lock in the best photographer for your job, it also gives you more opportunity to reshoot if something goes awry. Plus, images almost always need retouching, a process that can take longer than most people realize.
good
ideas
bonus tip >
Be available for your account manager as much as possible; if you have a preferred means of contact let them know. We understand more than most the temporary insanity producing your company’s annual can induce, but when an account manager can’t get in touch with a client in a timely fashion the process can be significantly affected.
embrace sustainability >
“As recently as five years ago, [sustainability] reports–if they appeared at all–were usually transparent efforts to polish the corporate image. Now there’s a more sophisticated understanding that environmental and social practices can yield strategic advantages in an interconnected world of shifting customer loyalties and regulatory regimes.”
from "Beyond the Green Corporation,"
BusinessWeek, 29 January 2007
what we’re up to >
We’re gearing up for a round of December FYE annual reports. And speaking of annuals, we recently learned our 2006 book for long-time client Cousins Properties was honored by LACP and ARC. Our annual report for first-time see see eye client Mueller Water Products also garnered an ARC award.
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about us
Award-winning graphic design and communications firm see see eye discovers good ideas for public companies and public causes. Since 1992, we have produced distinctive communications that help Fortune 1000 companies and nonprofit organizations build stakeholder confidence, including annual reports, Web sites, identity and brochures.
the last word
“Never say famous last words because they could be.”
– Billy Crystal in Forget Paris
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