Tips and Tricks For Business Report Design
A collection of nuggets from various report design specialists:
- Deliver a clear message. "The information designer is responsible for presenting the data in a way that the message is delivered in a clear and understandable way. If the data is left to speak for itself, users can be left confused or frustrated." More at Chart Makeovers, Fed IT Dashboard Edition by Zach Gemignani of Juice Analytics.
- Use magazine formatting. "Graphic artists who work at business magazines know how to create charts and tables that are easy to read. Learn from these people." More at Get Started with Excel Dashboard Reporting by Charles W. Kyd of ExcelUser.
- Space charts and illustrations. "A good design spaces charts and illustrations throughout the report, rather than placing them all together in one section." More at Annual Report Design Tips by Melissa Worcester of eHow.com.
- Get rid of the grid. "After laying out your spreadsheet the way you want it, turn off the grid or cell outlines to make your spreadsheet look cleaner." More at Create Excel Dashboards by Jon Wittwer of Vertex42.com.
- Don't overload the user with too many numbers. "Pages of detailed data is not a report." More at What Are Best Practices For BI Reports? by Dan Power of DSSResources.com.
- Copy and paste wisely. "I recommend you use the auditing toolbar, and if you are ever going to do a copy and paste, just consider if you have any absolute referencing." More at Copy & Paste (In Excel) by AuditExcel.co.za.
- Aim to inform. "Does it contain little more than a letter to shareholders and an operations review? Or does it truly aim to inform fully, presenting items such as a special editorial section, glossary of terms, a mission statement?" More at What Makes A Good Annual Report by Sid Cato of Cato Communications, Inc.
- Remember: Comic Sans has no place in business. "Sometimes I wish I could build a time machine so I could go back to whichever lunatic was presiding over the meeting when Microsoft decided to bundle Comic Sans with their operating system and give them a sound thrashing." More at Excel Design Tips – Make Your Excel Spreadsheets Look Good by Chris Garrett of Codswallop
- Be consistent. "For most annual report creative directors, art directors, writers and designers, this is a branding opportunity with many aspects that should remain consistent from year to year." More at Annual Report Design by Andy Attiliis at About.com.
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