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Report Design as Magazine Design [Graphic Novel Blog Post]

This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at freshspectrum.com.

So what if you created reports the same way publishers created magazines? That’s the question behind today’s post.

So what if report design was magazine design.
I mean imagine picking up a report and not feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of reading page after page of dense text.
Only have the time to read an "article" or two? No problem, that's how it was designed.
Want to read it on your phone? No problem, the articles are perfect for our multi-platform world!
This isn't a pipe dream of course. The tools and process exist to do just this. And they get easier to use by the day. All we have to do is break our boring report habit. Not as easy as it sounds.
Want a short cut? Head over to canva and check out their magazine templates. Use one the next time you write a report.

Here is a link to Canva magazine templates.

Things to keep in mind when using Canva for this kind of report writing.

  • Magazine templates are shown as covers. But many have internal spreads as well (article templates). Choose a template based on the internal spreads, you can always add a different cover.
  • If a template has a premium stock image it will cost money to download/print. But if you replace out the premium image (or just delete it) the template is free again.
  • Short reports and guides are pretty easy to create this way. The longer the report, the harder it is to use Canva as it starts to get a little too graphically intense for your web browser. If this happens, try breaking it into sections.
  • Write first using Word or some other writing application. Keep it as close to plain text as possible, don’t try to format in Word. Track changes is still useful, especially when team writing. Then copy over the text to Canva for finishing!