Report design for Dubai Economic Reports, an official publication of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) that reports economic data of the Emirate of Dubai, UAE.

Challenges

Dr. Jamel Zarrouk first became aware of my design work from the SGIE reports I designed for another client. He was impressed with the design and clarity we were able to achieve for such a complicated subject. He was in charge of another complicated publication, for Dubai’s Department of Economic Development (DED). Prior reports were packed with a large volume of dense and complicated content that was difficult to navigate. Dr. Zarrouk didn’t know exactly how to address this, so he brought me on to add the same kind of clarity that he saw in the SGIE reports. 

As with most financial reports, the content was rich, but dry. My design challenge was to transform a large amount of important information into an accessible format that was easy to access and understand. DED wanted the report to address the needs of two audiences: one that wanted a quick summary of the findings, and another kind of reader that was interested in digging into all the rich data collected in the report. The client also wanted the information to be presented in a more visually engaging manner, to enhance the overall reader experience. In addition, there was a tight timeline to contend with, one in which both the English and Arabic reports, as well as the accompanying marketing materials had to be ready for a set launch event.

Solutions

My team edited the overall content of the report, and developed 11 infographics that would serve as chapter summaries. To make the content more interesting and easier to digest, I suggested the use of chapter summaries, infographic summaries, side boxes, photos, pull quotes, charts and graphs. The chapter summaries and infographic summaries provided casual readers with a thorough overview of each chapter at a glance. It also served the more serious readers by providing them with an overview of that chapter’s content, and informing their decision to skip a chapter or to read on.

Results

• My client had a successful launch and a report that     engaged their readers
• My team and I managed to complete both reports (a total     of over 400 pages) in less than 2 months’ time without compromising     quality or going over budget
• We improved the overall report design to make it more unique, while adhering to DED’s strict branding guidelines
• Summary infographics for each chapter were re-purposed for presentations and other publications
• The newly designed report is rich in content, yet beautiful to look at and easy to consume, with improved charts and graphs that make the data much easier to understand
• I have since designed their 2019 report and suggested a new online bulletin [link] series for 2020, that will get important data out to the public in a more timely manner, through a more accessible channel.