Speedy Hire is a British firm that specialises in the hire of tools and equipment for the construction industry. The design logic of their 2003 report revolves around two ideas, both of which speak to the company’s work – a personal touch and speed.
The report is spiral bound, which in the language of corporate documents already suggests speed. This idea is reinforced by the incorporation of the contents page on the cover as a sticker, angled to suggest urgency.
Contents are divided into four sections, the last of which is the annual report and accounts. The first three sections deal with growth, organisation and market share. Each of these is packaged separately into envelopes containing stapled sheets with information relevant to each section. Each set of stapled sheets is presented as internal documents or memos, ‘typed’ and ‘annotated’, carrying through the idea of a personalised, agile business.
After this initial barrage of urgent information, the report proper is a much more sedate affair. A soft gray colour palette gently eases the reader into the more complex parts of the report and the use of generous and well-balanced negative space makes for a pleasant reading experience. The sense of urgency in the first half of the report is maintained with subtlety via the corporate portraits, shot in a reportage style, but this never overwhelms the serenity of the design. The cover of the report is glued directly to the hard board outer cover of the entire publication, neatly separating it from the envelopes at the start while maintaining the structure of a single publication.
