You have an additional job responsibility this year — delivering your company’s sustainability report. You’ve talked to colleagues and received a lot of good advice — you now have a roadmap for your journey ahead.
But how can you ensure your final product has maximum impact and effectiveness? The answer is to employ design best practices. They’re the best way to cinch success.
People often overlook design’s full potential. The truth is that strategic communications must be designed well to deliver impactful messages and keep readers engaged. Design shouldn’t be seen as an “optional extra” that can be tacked on at the end of a communications project to make it look “pretty.”
Design should be a priority and not an afterthought.
Good design is essential for communication effectiveness. It amplifies the story you wish to share and engages your audience. Good design…
- captures attention
- sets you apart
- establishes trust and credibility
- improves engagement, comprehension, and recall
- provides a seamless experience that makes understanding effortless
In contrast, poorly designed communications fail to engage and deliver effective messaging, interest, or inspiration. Valuable information gets lost when design isn’t carefully considered. Potential connections become missed opportunities.
Good design in ESG reporting yields extra benefits.
When you consider ESG reports specifically, good design can posture you for extra benefits. A well-crafted report can become:
- An HR recruiting tool to attract and retain talent
- An IR tool to attract and retain investors
- An internal communication tool to educate employees
- A culture-building tool to boost pride in working for your company
- A marketing tool to attract and keep customers
- A corporate communication and marketing tool highlighting your brand — what it stands for, why you exist, and your role in contributing to the greater good.
- A PR tool for communities where you want to do business
Given all of the above, it’s worth ensuring your ESG report is as well-crafted as possible — which leads us to our…
8 Design Best Practices for ESG Reporting
These eight tips will help you make your ESG report more impactful. Using these design best practices can turn your report into a powerful marketing tool. Through intentional design, you can effectively share your sustainability strategy and enhance your reputation, differentiation, and market value.
#1
Define a structure that best showcases your story.
Before you begin, think about how you can create a flow that supports your narrative. How can you organize the layout and message to have the greatest impact? What will engage your readers from the get-go? How might you build a meaningful, emotional connection early on?
Perhaps there’s an important statement that sets the tone — give it space to breathe before diving into your narrative. Or, you may lead with a powerful set of photographs that evokes the emotions you want your reader to associate with your brand. Or kick off with a graphically-depicted statistic for greater impact.
Beyond considering what should start the conversation, it’s also important to define an overarching visual hierarchy for your content — a structure that guides readers intentionally. Establish this early on, and keep it consistent to provide a sense of cohesion and reduce the mental load for your readers.
#2
Rely on the foundational elements of your established brand.
As you design your ESG report, draw upon the elements you’ve already established for your corporate brand. Maintain consistency with your organization’s brand platform by making your brand style guide your starting point. Refer to the established guidelines for logo placements, brand colors, fonts, photo styles, and other visual brand elements.
Beyond simple aesthetic cohesion, this allows your ESG report to be a meaningful opportunity to reinforce your brand’s presence and recognition. As a result, the report becomes a natural extension of your brand.
#3
Design your report for varying levels of readers.
When writing your report, consider the diverse range of readers and their differing attention spans and interests. You’re likely to have a mix of:
- Skimmers – those who gloss over the content and grab the highest-level information
- Casual readers – those who wander through the content, likely reading certain sections more than others
- Deep readers – those who will read and analyze every bit of your content
Despite these differing postures, you can create a report that meets the needs of all three. Readers can be funneled to the next level of your report with intention.
Grab skimmers with a hook.
Headlines, photos, and splashy graphics are all hooks. A hook needs to be catchy enough to make a reader want to read more. Whether it’s a thought-provoking headline, a visually stunning photo, or an attention-grabbing graphic, capturing a skimmer’s attention will often draw them into light reading.
Break up content for casual readers.
Sidebars, subheadings, pull quotes, captions, testimonials, case studies, and graphics are all elements designed to appeal to light readers. These bite-sized chunks of information make navigation of content and locating sections of interest easier. They also add variety to a page and break up long text blocks that some readers find overwhelming. These techniques are often used to spark deep reading in areas of interest.
Dedicate long-form text to deep readers.
Your long-form text is a deep read. The ultimate goal should be for readers to consume your report from beginning to end. It is possible to accomplish this by simultaneously utilizing all three levels of design techniques.
#4
Support your key messages with infographics.
Incorporating visual aids and data representations throughout your report will help you communicate your key messages most effectively. These complement your written information and speak to varying communication styles.
You can use graphs, charts, and infographics to both enhance a report’s visual appeal and illustrate key trends and data points. When well-constructed, these elements convey complex information in a visually appealing, engaging way that promotes comprehension.
To make your graphics most successful, consider the following:
- Purpose — Give charts and graphs a clear purpose. Is your aim to convey a story, give insight, or provide context? Let your titles or captions clearly communicate the takeaways.
- Presentation style — What presentation style simplifies the data and makes it easier to understand? The most common presentation types are line graphs, bar graphs, pie charts, scatter plots, and area charts.
- Visual variety — How can you help your readers absorb information through use of colors, shapes, and sizes? By highlighting the most important data points through variation in color or size, you can assist readers in reaching meaningful conclusions.
- Scale — Don’t forget to pay attention to the way you scale charts and graphs. Avoid data distortions and misleading impressions, and label axes properly for context and interpretation.
- Consistency — It’s important to design charts and graphs consistently. Use consistent color schemes, font styles, and layouts for the full report to create a pleasing visual appearance and ease of navigation.
#5
Enhance your story with top-quality photography.
To help your narrative stand out, use eye-catching visuals. Strong photography can help you make a powerful, emotional connection. Here are some key characteristics of the strongest images.
- Focus — Often, there is a sharp focus on the main subject. This clarity is crucial for drawing attention to an intended subject.
- Composition — There’s balance in the arrangement of elements, whether they follow traditional rules like the Rule of Thirds or intentionally break them.
- Lighting — No matter what type of lighting is used, it should contribute to the mood of an image.
- Color and contrast — Visual appeal is enhanced by vibrant, true-to-life colors and appropriate contrast. The best photos contrast the subject with the background in order to make it stand out.
- Resolution — High resolution cannot be overemphasized. It preserves the quality and detail of images even when they are enlarged.
- Exposure — Exposure is crucial. When a photo is overexposed, it appears washed out; when it is underexposed, shadow details are lost.
- Noise and grain — It is ideal for a photograph to have minimal noise or grain, unless it is deliberately added for artistic purposes.
- Storytelling and emotional impact — A high-quality image enhances mood, tells a story, or evokes emotion beyond its technical features. Regardless of its subjective nature, it sets apart an exceptional photograph.
- Originality and creativity — A distinct perspective, unusual subject, or creative composition makes an image more interesting and appealing.
- Appropriate background — A picture’s background should complement the main subject, not distract from it. It should contribute to the story the image tells.
By prioritizing the quality of your images, you not only strengthen your storytelling; you also raise the professionalism of your presentation and elevate your brand.
#6
Use design tools to strengthen your messaging flow.
Typography — Select a legible font pairing that complements your overall design aesthetic. Choose a primary font for headings and a secondary font for body text. Make sure the fonts you choose are readable on different devices and at varying sizes. It’s important to note that some corporate brand guidelines require specific typefaces for all company materials. Be sure to reference these established guides.
Section dividers and headers — Differentiate sections within the report by using dividers or headers. This enhances the report’s organization and simplifies navigation for readers.
Callouts and pull quotes — Make use of callout boxes or stylized text to draw attention to important statements, key findings, or impactful quotes within the report. By doing this, you emphasize significant details and break up the text.
Sidebars — A sidebar is a story within a story. Use them to expand on noteworthy topics or ESG processes and policies that might otherwise get lost or distract from your report’s main text.
Case studies and examples — Support your report’s claims with real-life case studies. It can be powerful to provide examples of how your products and services have benefited your customers or employees.
Testimonials and quotes — Include quotes from key company leaders, employees, customers, and partners. You can also use quotes from industry thought leaders to demonstrate your company’s expertise and provide context. These voices add authenticity and credibility to the report.
#7
Integrate icons and logos that support your sustainability story.
What certifications and awards can you highlight? Be sure to include visual icons and representations of your brand’s affiliations and accomplishments. Icons, seals, and logos quickly and easily communicate much about your brand’s commitments and credibility.
Has your organization participated in any sustainability programs such as LEED, Fair Trade, B Corporation, or carbon neutral organizations? Be sure to include approved icons or logos within your report.
Has your company won awards in any of the following categories: Industry, Workplace, Business Excellence, Customer Satisfaction and Service, Innovation and Technology, Leadership, Financial Performance, Marketing and Branding, and Diversity and Inclusion? Include relevant logos and visual representations of these awards as well.
These factors contribute to the credibility and attractiveness of your company among employees and investors. Furthermore, they validate what your brand stands for, your culture, and your company’s success.
#8
Enhance your ESG report with digital features and formats.
To increase engagement among your stakeholders, consider digital and interactive features.
- Use links or QR codes to direct readers to videos or in-depth content on your website that will help them better understand your company’s ESG strategy.
- Encourage visitors to explore your website by including multimedia such as interviews, testimonials, animations, and interactive infographics.
- Create an interactive ESG report for your website.
- Provide a printable PDF version that can be customized to print sections of interest.
- Offer downloadable ESG framework sheets that include your company’s responses to each standard your company reports to.
Fostering community and connection through social media is important too. Use quotes, photos, animations, customer stories, etc., and break down your ESG report into bite-sized posts. Share this content with your followers.
For example, you could share a quote or customer story about your company’s sustainability commitment. As part of the post, link to your ESG PDF on your website. Promote similar content across multiple social media platforms to reach a variety of your target audiences.
Good design + transparent communication = powerful results
The design best practices discussed here enhance visual appeal, readability, clarity, understanding, accessibility, and message retention. This creates broader audience engagement for your ESG report. Still, it’s equally important to prioritize accuracy, transparency, and quality in your report’s content as well.
When you couple intentional design with transparent communication, the results are powerful. Your final product will have maximum impact and effectiveness. It will successfully:
- communicate your company’s ESG strategy and performance
- discusse past and present ESG initiatives
- report year-to-year progress in achieving ESG goals
In addition, it will deliver all the “desired extras” for a company:
- attract investors
- build loyalty with customers
- attract and land future talent
- retain current employees
- communicate positively with the communities where you do business
All of this, in turn, leads to greater profits, a stronger brand, and improved customer and employee satisfaction, as well as boosting morale, encouraging collaboration, and fostering innovation. Can you think of any other communication tool where the outcome makes a difference for so many departments at your company?
Get the greatest bang for your buck
Yes, the stakes are high. You’ll want to make the most of this opportunity.
As you get started on your ESG report, reach out for support. We’re here to help you create a well-crafted final product that’s intentionally designed to propel your organization forward.