The Secret to Your Report’s Success

By Brian Carter

Whether you’re a huge enterprise, mid-sized corporation, or a mom-and-pop shop, every business establishment has the need to examine its current state of affairs. It is safe to say that no business can survive without some type of regular assessment. The typical method used to accomplish the task of examining your business is to gather the necessary information and compile a report, which is then analyzed to make important decisions.

There are many types of reports, and they come in various formats. Every company has its own methods for presenting information within a report. The key for a successful report is that it exhibits the information in such a manner that consumers of the report can easily visualize and understand what the information is articulating. In fact, the definition of a report actually suggests that the design and format of a report can be just as important, if not more so, than the actual data itself. What good is a bunch of data compiled in a report, if it doesn’t tell you anything?

If you do a Google search on the term “report,” you’ll find numerous definitions from the many web sites. Two of them stand out: “An organized collection of data, prepared for viewing or printing,1” and “The presentation of a formatted collection of information; can be presented on paper, on the web, on diskette, or online2.” These definitions seem to suggest that the organization and presentation of the data is actually the most important aspect.

Tell a story
What is the best way to present the information so that a report serves its function? For example, how can a company’s performance become observable, its trends identified, and risks calculated? These are the some of the questions the creation or reports must answer.

One way you can accomplish this is to build a report that tells a story. The information presented in a report must flow and trigger the reader to make observations. Rather than compiling a collection of reports, create a series of reports and charts that walks the viewer through the business activity as a story.

Know your audience
Let’s say you are tasked with compiling a quarterly sales report that top management executives will use to make key business decisions. This report will obviously need to be boardroom-quality, include reports, charts, and be ready for print and presentation.

In order to design a successful report that serves this function well, there are a few things to consider. If you break the report down, the main attributes that contribute to the overall design are layout, graphics, font selection, and color scheme. The blending of these four elements will be the key to this report’s success.

Build a book
Let’s start with the layout. Obviously, it’s not a good idea to cram all of the reports and charts onto a single page. It will be very difficult for anyone to comprehend the information or, worse yet, make any decisions based on a crowded layout. In contrast, building a book of reports will give you the best means of telling a story.

Spreading reports and charts out over multiple pages will allow you to isolate and draw attention to the most important elements in the overall report. Remember, you don’t have to fill every inch of the page; give the information some breathing room.

Illustrate the data
Charts and graphs are the best ways to illustrate the significance of the data. Charts stand out on the page and clearly convey the big picture. Keep in mind that flat, two-dimensional charts are much easier to read, so you should stay away from three-dimensional charts if you want the message of the data conveyed. Don’t forget the color aspect as well, which leads to the next point.

Add visual appeal
The addition of a few subtle images will give your report a bit of visual appeal, as well as a professional look and feel. Photographic images are best, but don’t overdo it with the images as they will begin to crowd the page and take away from the important elements. One thing you will need to do is to enlist the help of your graphic arts department. It will take a team effort to make this report successful.

The use of color is also vital to the visual appeal of the report. You’ll want contrast between the text and the background to ensure the text and numbers are clear and legible. Limit the colors to two or three at most and use a color wheel to pick a color scheme. Remember, color has meaning and you can also isolate individual lines or columns of a tabular report with color to help radiate the more important information.

Don’t forget the fonts
When picking a font, keep in mind the medium of the report. Will this be read in print, a projector or monitor? Although you will be creating a report “book,” the readers will be viewing this in more of a presentation mode. Pick a sans-serif font such as Arial or Century Gothic. These fonts are more readable and stand out from a distance. Limit the font choices to no more than two as mixing fonts on a page can be distracting. Also refrain from the use of all capital letters so the report doesn’t shout at the readers.

Keep it consistent
One of the most important aspects in a successful report book is consistence. Make sure you use the same font for reports, charts, and textual elements and make sure the color scheme is consistent throughout the book. You want every page of the book to look consistent and to look like it belongs. Don’t create a new look for each report or page.

Also keep in mind the story aspect. The book should have a consistent flow, walking the readers through the meaning of the data. For example, the information conveyed in the quarterly sales report mentioned earlier should inform the executives first of how the company has performed for the quarter, followed by how this quarter compares to previous quarters to paint the big picture so they can guide the business on a profitable path.

How?
Now that you’re thinking about the basics of building a successful report, you’re probably wondering how you can accomplish this task. Well, Developer Studio has a facility called the PDF Layout Painter. This tool specializes in creating report books as described in this article and provides all of the means necessary for you to create a professional and successful report. The PDF Layout Painter allows you to create PDF documents for printing, as well as PowerPoint presentations that can be projected in the boardroom.

When creating the quarterly sales report mentioned above, you’ll be able to provide the executives with a complete printed report book that can be referenced in the meeting, as well as select the most strategic reports and charts and place them in a single layout that can be projected in the room for discussion.

The PDF Layout has a custom paper size that allows as many as four pages to line up horizontally in a single layout helping the decision makers view all of the significant reports side by side for better analysis. Text annotation and formatting also are available to further help illustrate important points in the book.

If you want to help your business make better decisions or if you’re just flat out trying to impress your boss, check out the latest version of the PDF Layout Painter. It will surely contribute to your report’s success.

Sources used in writing this article: