Report design
for the future

Designing a report fit for COP27

We are proud to have partnered with Systemiq - in collaboration with AYA Earth Partners - to design their report: ‘The Amazon’s Marathon: Brazil to lead a low-carbon economy from the Amazon to the world’.

This is an important document which could be a real game-changer for the Amazon and the world. Here’s how we worked across time zones to have it ready in time for its presentation at COP27.

Design: ‘The Amazon’s Marathon’ Report

“We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator…”

Those were among UN secretary general, António Guterres’s opening words at this year’s COP27 climate change summit.

“[Climate change] is the defining issue of our age. It is the central challenge of our century.”

A stark warning, if ever there was one.

As the COP27 summit continues in Egypt, back home we’re facing daily reminders of the need to cut carbon emissions.

Record temperatures this summer were a direct result of human-caused climate change, with flooding, sea level rises and loss of natural ecosystems all directly impacted by increasing temperatures. At the same time, around the world, Pakistan is experiencing extensive flooding following monsoon rains, while parts of East Africa are struggling through their fifth season of extreme drought.

So sustainability is a big buzzword right now.

With forest loss and damage the cause of around 10% of global warming, a steady increase in the deforestation of the Brazilian Legal Amazon is worrying. In an attempt to emulate the resource-intensive economic model under which China and South Korea had previously thrived, Brazil has suffered, with sustainable economic growth and income distribution proving difficult to achieve.

This has left the country in need of transition to a more resource-efficient, people-centric model.

As ‘the Amazon’s Marathon‘ report points out, the benefits are plentiful, with Brazil potentially providing 1.9 gigatons in carbon surplus to the world by 2050. By following the pathways set out in the development plan, it could become the first major economy to achieve net zero, while at the same time boosting economic growth to the tune of $100-$150 billion additional GDP per year.

The message of the report is clear. We just had to bring it to life.

“

As proven by 'the Amazon's Marathon' report, graphic design offers the potential to promote and support sustainability and usher in a brighter tomorrow.

Design across continents

Working alongside members of AYA and Systemiq’s LatAm team, both based in Brazil, we started the design process with a series of discovery calls to learn more about the scope of work and the possibilities provided by AYA’s recently updated brand guidelines.

The outcomes? Intense green combined with nature-focused imagery and easy-to-interpret infographics were to figure highly. Working together they would play a big part in the organic visual feel we were all hoping to achieve.

Armed with this information, our team set about creating templates for the main report pages. Pages that would reflect the story behind the Amazon’s Marathon and AYA’s ideals of ‘doing things differently.’

This visual exploration of styles and themes plays a big part in ensuring the designs are on the right track, right from the very start of a project. It’s why we assign a large portion of the timeline to get it right.

Once initial layouts were agreed upon, we flowed the content into the document, recreating charts where necessary to ensure the latest data was displayed in the cleanest way.

We then moved on to the really creative part – adding the visual flourishes that elevate a report from functional to impactful and exciting.

Sourcing images is an often underappreciated stage of the production process. But getting the imagery right is one of the key elements of good report design. When they’re correct, they fit seamlessly into the design, working alongside infographics and icons to enhance the report and bring it to life.

Given the tight timescales – ‘the Amazon’s Marathon’ report was to be presented at one of the world’s most important conferences – we stretched our internal review processes to ensure quality control and uniformity of styles within the report.

Meanwhile, our Project Manager and Creative Director kept in regular content with the teams in South America, outside of usual UK office times, to ensure the process was a smooth one for all sides.

A real team effort from all involved.

Design for different mediums

Alongside the printed version of the report, we created an interactive digital document to be distributed on online platforms.

The final ask was to restyle the company’s draft PowerPoint presentation so that it matched the visual feel of the main report.

Displayed at the report launch, this provided a visually engaging accompaniment to the speaker’s presentation. Working right up to the day of the conference, this document was designed to be easy to edit on the fly, should the need arise to quickly switch slides in/out or add/remove elements, based on the content of other presentations on the day.

Design to support sustainable goals

As proven by this report, graphic design offers the potential to promote and support sustainability and usher in a brighter tomorrow.

The theme of this year’s International Design Day – suspended in transition – encouraged designers to ‘embrace the opportunity to explore alternative futures’; while Pantone’s colour of the year for 2022, PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri helps us to ‘embrace this altered landscape of possibilities.’

But change has to come from the top. At last year’s Climate Change Conference, the UK government announced its roadmap to sustainability, setting out Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDRs) which have made climate-related disclosures mandatory for the largest organisations in our country. This has sped up an already accelerating movement in sustainability reporting. One in which we, as a forward-thinking agency, are already looking to play a leading role.

It’s why we’re honoured to partner with organisations such as Systemiq, who are changing the world for the better.

A brand that truly is In Search of Wonder®.

Download your guide to sustainability report design

Are you looking to publish your first sustainability report, or improve the design of your current offering?

Download our guide to sustainability report design and learn:

✅ The most popular reporting frameworks and how to use them
✅ The five key steps to successful sustainability reporting
✅ Our top tips for excellent report design

DOWNLOAD

Choose JDJ Creative for annual and sustainability report design

With over a decade of experience, we’ve become trusted partners to many global, professional and corporate organisations based in both the UK and the US, and created hundreds of financial reports and yearly review documents on their behalf. Many of the best practices associated with producing these financial reports are transferrable to the sustainability reporting sphere, and we’re delighted to be able to bring our clients’ journeys towards long-term sustainability to life.

If you’re interested in partnering with us to design your next report, please feel free to get in touch for an informal conversation.

Together we can set sustainable standards for the future.

For an informal conversation with one of our team, please get in touch with us at hello@jdjcreative.co.uk or fill in our contact form.

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