The German brand, Puma, is the third largest sportswear manufacturer in the world and sponsor of perhaps the greatest sprinter ever, Usain Bolt. Bolt is the focus of Puma’s 2017 annual report, titled ‘9.58’ after Bolt’s record-breaking run in 2009.
The report takes the form of a video of Bolt’s sprint, given a black and white treatment. Overlaid on this are the pages of the annual report. Navigation is simple and effective – your cursor allows you to play the video or advance frame by frame (the video has around 240 frames), depending where on the screen you hover and click. Watching the video at its intended speed makes reading the report impossible of course, but the visuals of the race are exhilarating. The rising shouts of the crowd as Bolt’s extraordinary speed propels him toward the finish line, will entrance you.
The report is most legible on a large screen and even then it is not an easy reading experience. Puma neatly circumvents this by reproducing the report below the video in six ‘chapters,’ each of which contain nested sub-chapters. The layout on these static pages is clean and easy to read. Subtle, gentle visual motion in the main image on each page quietly echoes the motion of the video.
The report (video included) is designed using a simple red, black, grey and white palette. The red is used effectively as a navigation tool, especially in the video. The report makes use of an understated sans serif typeface balanced with ample negative space. Every design component works unobtrusively in the background, allowing the video to be the star of the show – and what a star it is.
Online Annual report : PUMA Annual Report 2017
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