How do you approach long documents/annual reports?

[JohnCitizen]

I'm kinda interested to hear how others approach this fundamental design task. I'm always keen to pick up some tips that might help me work in a more efficient manner with larger projects.

I haven't had much experience in this area and would appreciate some pointers from more experienced designers.

Usually the initial presentation will consist of a cover, a couple of key spreads (one content heavy, one more sparse) featuring indicitive table designs, pull quote elements, graphs etc and maybe a financials spread. Depending on the budget, or the studio that I am working for, I might present between 1 and 3 concepts, each featuring these spreads.

Usually at this point I'm not too fussed about getting all my Para/Character styles set-up, as that will come once the client has signed off on a direction. (maybe I should change this? Does anyone actually 100% define their styles straight from the get-go?)

Once a direction is agreed upon I will usually peruse the copy (if is is available) and make some decisions regarding document structure, sections, length, approximate pagination etc and this will inform how many Master Pages I create.

If a section of copy is then available, I will drop the densest part of the document into one of my initial spreads to check whether my point size + leading, use of negative space is realistic for the actual volume of content to come. I find it best to work from the 'worst-case' scenario as far as density of content is concerned, rather than design initial layouts which may become unworkable as I encounter busier sections of the document. I will then make any adjustments to these figure and only then proceed to set up Character Styles, Paragraph Styles (and Nested Styles, Next Styles etc)

Then, using the actual info from the most complex graph/map and the most complex table, I will define styles for each of these.

Um, and thats pretty much it - maybe create a couple of Object Styles for sidebars/panels etc and then I am pretty much set to go.

So, yeah - really keen to hear if anyone can suggest some insights that might improve upon this process - or even point out any mistakes in my approach. Are there some InDesign features that I should be making use of that I don't already? I've only worked on a handful of longer documents in my career - so I would be deeply appreciative of some suggestions from more experienced designers.

Cheers!

 

[spamjim]

Your 'design first, add content later' approach would be good if you are selling stock templates/designs (or if you simply want to show what you are capable of doing).

Content comes first and then it is the designer's job to present that content in the most accessible manner. It is difficult to know what that most accessible manner is if you do not first have the content.

The 'content first' method is more relevant today as we dive deeper into cross media publishing and various designs (print/web/mobile) must be made from the same managed content.

 

[JohnCitizen]

Sure, I agree with you wholeheartedly - but if I had a dime for everytime I've had to design something (usually annual reports) while the content is still being written...

(Or for everytime I was still waiting for content 1 week AFTER the supposed print deadline!)

Yes, definately - the content SHOULD dictate the design....in an ideal world. I should've clarified that yes, of course, if I HAD the content, then it would be the basis of the entire design.

Unfortunately client deadlines/disorganisation dictate that this is not always the way that things are done. As such, sometimes one has to do basic, inidicitive spreads to convey the possible 'look and feel' of the document, and to refine the finer points as content comes dripping in.

 

[spamjim]

Even while content is being written/revised, the client should have an outline of the message that they want to communicate. If it is an annual report, you should be able to use last's years content for reference.

There are certainly many ways to approach this but from my own practice, a designer applies style to content. It is messy if you are forced to apply content to an existing design... the message is more easily lost.

Does anyone actually 100% define their styles straight from the get-go?

Yes. And you can even import styles you've already created for other similar documents. This is a standard practice for both print and web design.

 

[JohnCitizen]

Fair play, and yes, usually I will have a copy of the year's previous document from which my initial assumptions re. length, content and pagination are made.

A question: would you frequently simply import styles wholesale from a previous, similar document and simply modify them for the new document - saving a lot of time, since you would already have the basic parameters of your captions, body copy, pull quotes etc.?

 

[spamjim]

You can load any or all styles.

A company might have a style guide that requires the use of standardized styles defined in a template document.