I’m posting the Annual Report that I designed for American University Library mostly for inspiration’s sake, but also because I think it turned out great.

Last year the report centered around this theme of a botanical field guide. For this year’s report, the highlights were maps from the library’s special collections. Since maps were the central focus, the report was designed around the core idea of a “Captain’s Log.” This idea allowed the addition of personal elements such as handwriting and handmade graphs, these personal touches helped to dispel the austere image that annual reports tend to portray.

One of the primary goals when designing this annual report was that it be a tactile experience. The cover was embossed with a leather texture on the spine and the four corners, and the paper is milled to feel like cloth. The ultimate goal was that this annual report feel authentic, and I think we succeeded.

Below, I’ve attached a PDF so you can look through the whole thing.

Annual reports are notoriously hard to compile, but are they worth the outcome?

This year is the second year American University Library has chosen to dive in and make a public annual report. The first year was a trying task juggling the politics and the pain. The second year went a little more smoothly, but was still a huge nightmare (more politics and different pain).

Sounds like more trouble than it’s worth right?
You would think so, but with the right annual report and the right audience, it can be a beautiful thing.

The motivation for producing an annual report is to communicate the core values and worth of the organization to the public. Another great reason is fundraising- annual reports, especially “trophy annual reports” are great fodder for making the institution look grand and worthy of donations.

The design for this annual report was inspired by a botanic field guide, incorporating images from AU Library’s special collections. The style was chosen to fit in with the nature theme that all of AU Library’s administrative level brochures carry.

I’ve attached the PDF of the annual report to this post for review.

If you work in a higher education setting, chances are you’re going to need to address a younger audience. Take a look around at what is connecting with your target demographic, what resonates with them, most likely isn’t what resonates with you, no matter how “in-touch” you feel you are.

If you take a minute to look around, you can find inspiration from the strangest places, try the Cartoon Network. Their late night schedule called Adult Swim has a target audience of 18 to 34 year-olds (sounds like a familiar demographic).
Combining sophisticated graphics and an adult-oriented sense of humor (as much as is allowable on basic cable) their ratings have soared to astronomical heights; currently they are rated number one in their time-slot on basic cable.

Taking a cue from some of their top rated cartoons, the designers at Adult Swim have given the majority of their imagery a distinct Japanese slant. Not surprising since Anime (Japanese Animation) has been popular across the board with multiple demographics.

More interestingly, however, the designers have recently begun dabbling in mixing lithograph images from the 50’s with gritty urban scenes to create sophisticated yet upsetting vignettes that harken back to the era of the atomic bomb.

Find it strange that Millennials are connecting to these images? Think about it, Baby-Boomers are the most pervasive force in these Millennials’ lives, there is bound to be some back-lash towards this force.

I’ll leave you with that, feel free to interpret that how you would like.

“Adult Swim” and the images on this page © 2006 Cartoon Network. A Time Warner Company.