Why visuals matter in annual report design (plus 3 examples)

No matter what the last year at your company looked like, we can bet it wasn’t boring. Your annual report shouldn't be either.

Annual reports are a chance to showcase the highlights from your year — the data, milestones, and moments that made the year special — with engaging visual content. Traditionally, “annual report” sometimes means a dry, dense document filled with financial and regulatory info. But whatever format it takes, yours shouldn’t be stale. Make it visual and make it uniquely yours.

We’ve created lots of annual reports for our clients, ranging from classic PDFs to highly themed microsites. Annual reports come in all shapes and sizes, and no matter the format, yours should use visuals to turn a year’s worth of data and milestones into a clear, compelling story.

Check out the video below where we’ll talk about the not-so-secret ingredient to making annual reports that stand out. We also show off three of our favorite examples and break down the best practices that make them work.

Annual reports come in many shapes and sizes

Before we get too far, we should clear something up: “Annual report” is a story type, not a format — meaning, what makes something an annual report is its content, not its shape.

When you hear “annual report,” you might think of a classic 8.5x11” PDF, but it can also be an infographic, an animated video, a microsite — whatever format best serves your audience and makes the content engaging.

Explore our annual report examples to get a feel for what’s possible. You’ll find infographics, animation, microsites, and more.

Different names, same goal

You might even call your annual report something different. Our clients have used names like these:

• Annual report
• Year-in-review
• Impact report
• Highlight reel

The name matters less than what it does. So whatever term you use, the goal is generally the same: to highlight the key happenings and important updates from your organization over the past year. We’ll use “annual report” throughout this post and video to refer to this type of content.

Engaging both internal and external audiences

Annual reports often have a blended audience of both internal and external readers. Internal audiences might include employees, investors, board members, or other insiders in the know. External audiences can include donors, policymakers, potential customers, and the general public. That’s a wide breadth.

Meeting the needs of both internal and external audiences means balancing brevity and detail so everyone can clearly understand the info that’s important to them. Visuals are super helpful here: Charts, diagrams, graphics, and photos make that info easier to understand and quicker to consume, letting casual consumers get the gist while making the details more digestible for more in-depth readers.

Ultimately, annual reports are a storytelling tool — they tell the story of your year through text, data, and design working together to make it memorable and engaging. That’s where our not-so-secret ingredient comes in: visuals. If you want your annual report to stand out, you gotta make it visual.

Three reasons to add visuals to your annual report

We’ll break down three key reasons why adding visuals to your annual report is a can’t-miss opportunity.

1. Visuals make your report clearer and more delightful

Visuals make your annual reports clearer because great design does a lot of heavy lifting that text alone just can’t. 

For annual reports, data visualizations are usually some of the key visuals that clarify your story. A chart shows a trend. A diagram explains a process. An illustration makes an abstract idea concrete or conveys a feeling that a stock photo never could. When your audience can see what you’re telling them, they understand it faster and remember it longer.

And it shouldn’t come as a surprise that visuals also make your report more delightful. After all, which would you rather read: a big ol’ wall of text, or… just about anything else?

One thing to note, though: Making your report visual doesn’t mean loading it with illustrations, funky fonts, or bright colors if that’s not your brand. It means being strategic with thoughtful text layout, data viz, and branded elements that put your unique personality front and center.

2. Visuals signal trust and confidence 

A visually clear annual report tells your audience and stakeholders that you know your stuff. 

When you can distill complex data — especially financial data — into a digestible format, it reads as competent and transparent. You’re not hiding anything in dense paragraphs. You’re putting it right there for everyone to see.

And in a world where trust is hard to earn and easy to lose, that kind of clarity speaks volumes. Polished visuals convey professionalism.

3. Visuals create opportunities for divisible content

Visual content gives you more bang for your buck. Even if you still go with the classic PDF approach, using visuals to highlight key points will give the whole piece more staying power. 

Choose a few things to visualize, and you’ll get a highlight graphic for LinkedIn, a key stats card for your email newsletter, a one-pager for presentations — your report does the work once and travels a lot further.

And you don’t need to design or redesign your whole report to make this work. Even one well-designed highlights page or infographic can anchor the entire report and give people a reason to keep reading.

For more divisible content inspiration, read our guide to 70 ways to use an infographic — whether your annual report is an infographic or not, you can see how far one project can go.

Annual report examples: 3 standout projects

Now let's take a look at a few annual reports that really nailed their purpose. We’ll explore three examples and talk through some highlights and best practices from each one.

Example #1: Invest in Others’ 2022 Impact at a Glance

First up, we have a static infographic we created for Invest in Others, a nonprofit that connects financial services professionals with philanthropic causes they care about. The goal is to tell the story of the organization’s community impact through data about its grants and awards.

Data visualization with a purpose

The highlight here is the data visualization. Whenever you include data viz in an annual report, make sure it connects to the narrative. Charts and graphs are great, but dropping them in without context doesn’t do your audience any favors. 

Give them what they need to understand the data and connect it to a larger story or trend to make it meaningful.

Clear, glanceable structure

The structure here is also solid, with clear, descriptive headings that help viewers find what matters most to them. Not everyone needs to read everything, and that’s okay — the goal is to make sure the right information is easy to find for whoever’s looking. 

Even if you’re not creating an infographic, you can apply this principle with a strong table of contents and descriptive section headers that help readers navigate to what’s most important to them. 

Illustrations that convey mood and personality

And while the numbers really tell the story here, the illustrations tell us how we should feel about it. We have a few characters here, each with a friendly expression and supporting design elements that convey celebration to make them pop. 

They help audiences remember the human element of this story, and they break up the data just enough to make the piece feel a little more engaging. 

Example #2: Knutson Construction’s 2025 Year In Review

Next up: The 2025 annual report for our friends at Knutson Construction. This one’s an animated infographic that balances traditional company milestones with a focus on the company’s people.

Visuals signal what’s important

Here’s what this annual report nails: It uses visual cues to draw the eye to the most important stuff. In this case, animation does that work, but you can accomplish the same thing in any format. Going with a classic PDF report? Clear headings and icons can direct your reader’s attention just as effectively. Working on an infographic? A standout illustration or bold data viz signals that the surrounding content is worth slowing down for. The specific design choice might change, but the goal stays the same.

Putting Knutson’s people front and center

Knutson’s report also does a beautiful job of putting its people front and center, with bespoke illustrations of real employees and quotes woven throughout. 

Your people made your year happen, and giving them a moment in the spotlight does double duty: It boosts team pride, and it builds your employer brand by showing your people and conveying that you're a good place to work.

Look back and look ahead

Finally, this annual report looks back and looks ahead, which is a great structure to follow. 

It celebrates the big wins of the past year and puts them in context, then pivots to what's coming next with a sense of momentum and optimism. It's a great way to leave your internal and external audiences feeling informed and energized.

Example #3: Lemonly’s 3D Interactive Annual Report

Last but certainly not least, we have an example of our own. Our 2021 annual report is an example of the Lemonheads taking our creativity to the max, and it’s probably on the furthest end of the “making something cool and unique with your annual report” spectrum.

It’s a complete 3D environment designed to look like someone’s work desk, with clickable elements that let viewers choose their own adventure through our year. Pretty cool, right?

Now, whether or not this kind of out-of-the-box format aligns with your goals for an annual report, you can still use these best practices to create something creative and unique. Here's what we had in mind when we made it.

Unique approach that fits your brand

First, we told the story of our year in a way that only we could. The visuals and content are perfectly married — each highlight is paired with a related object that makes the scene feel lived-in. This report is also unapologetically Lemonly — the theme, the interactions, the details all reflect who we are as a company.

Your annual report, especially if potential clients or partners will see it, is a chance to show off a little. Consider it a proof of concept. If you do great work, let your report prove it.

Easter eggs that reward deeper engagement

We also hid Easter eggs throughout. Friends and fans of Lemonly have a lot to discover in this one, and that sense of reward for exploring keeps people in the experience longer than they might otherwise stick around.

Link to relevant resources for more info

Finally, we pointed to plenty of other resources. A year is a long time — and unless you’re planning a novel-length magnum opus, you're not going to fit everything in. That’s fine. Link out to the blog posts, case studies, and projects that deserve more attention than your report can give them.

Think of your annual report as the highlight reel, and let those resources be the extended cut.

Use visual content to tell the story of your year

No matter what format your annual report takes — a static infographic, an animated piece, or a fully interactive 3D experience — the through-line is the same: make it visual, make it strategic, and make it yours.

Ready to create a stunning annual report for yourself? Get in touch — we’d be stoked to help you bring the story of your year to life.