Public Radio Capital, a national nonprofit based in Boulder, Colorado, that provides consulting services for financing public media in communities nationwide, engaged us to design & layout their 2011 annual report design. The goal of the annual report design was to incorporate professional photography, typography, layout, and design elements to create a compelling and professional annual report for the organization. The intended delivery of the final annual report design would be both online as an interactive web document, as well as physical printed reports for the organization.
Annual Report Design: Creative Process
During initial meetings and calls about this project, Public Radio Capital (PRC) had a strong desire for this report design to include large photos, good use of color throughout that matched the existing PRC brand, and a wide, side-by-side page layout to display facing pages in the online interactive document. Print considerations include the obvious use of full color, and full bleeds, as well as binding methods and final document preparation for production. Design elements chosen for the cover of the document include the PRC logo design, and a primary image of a radio & recording microphone, coupled with lots of color and texture while maintaining a light and crisp look. The cover also features a very limited amount of text to support the clean and concise report design, as well as an introduction to the main color pallet that will used throughout the report design.
Subsequent page designs in the annual report have strong use of color from the original color pallet, and feature a side-by-side layout to present both the strong images and most important content for the document in a compelling way. The online version of this web document features an interactive page flip experience to make the document seem 3 dimensional and “feel” much more like a real document would. The report design process included several iterative drafts, so the client was able to review the document and offer feedback during the report design process. This allowed the client to see the work in progress and know that it was headed in the correct direction to meet their overall needs, and it allowed us to incorporate more detailed feedback and real-time responses to the report design, and ultimately avoid duplicating efforts in the design process.
Annual Report Design: Layout Examples
Here are several pages from the actual report design that demonstrate the use of the chosen color pallet, common design elements, photography, and typography throughout the report design:
Annual Report Design: Delivery
Final delivery of the annual report design document include multiple PDF versions for web and print, with and without page bleeds for final production. Several smaller versions were also delivered for use in emails and as email attachments. We also produced side-by-side page layouts, as well as individual page layout versions for use by the client in certain circumstances at their discretion. The online version of this annual report design was uploaded to a service called Issuu, and then delivered electronically to stakeholders.
About the Client
Public Radio Capital is a national nonprofit that provides comprehensive consulting services for strengthening, expanding and financing public media in communities nationwide. As project managers and trusted advisors, PRC’s experienced staff members create, support and lead public media projects at local and national levels. We turn ideas into viable business options. Public Radio Capital’s mission is to strengthen and expand public media to provide local communities nationwide with more in-depth information, unbiased news, diverse music and cultural programming. Founded in 2001, PRC has led its clients through nearly $300 million in radio transactions, securing public radio access for 62 million people.