British Council Annual Report 2006-2007 project overview

In 2006, we were commissioned by the British Council to design their Annual Report. Without a doubt, their most important publication of each year. We obviously did a good job because they asked us back again in 2007.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/annual-report/index.htm

Technology overview

HTML, CSS

What happened

Although we were commissioned last year, the playing field was levelled and three agencies were invited for the creative pitch. We didn’t rest on our laurels, instead we returned with four concepts taking their brief to a higher level.

Why it was good

It was good because the report not only delivered the financial information in a clear way, but we also incorporated their ethos and aims. Annual reports are not the easiest of jobs and it can be difficult dealing with 13 regions spanning the globe, all with a different opinion and all with a slightly different needs.

One of the most important services we provided to the client was direct contact with the accounts department. A member of our staff went down to their offices and worked directly with them to ensure the data came into the report cleanly and that revisions were handled carefully and diligently. It cut down on time, mistakes and late nights.

What happened next

The covers show a pie chart, not something you would normally want on the front of your annual report, but because of the dye cut, the user experiences a ‘reveal’ giving global data in a beautiful and immediate way.

Neil Kinnock mentioned the report’s ‘beautiful design'. Thanks Neil. We then set about building an online version.