This is an annual report concept mock up for a chosen company, Vespa Piaggio SPA, a project for an Information Design class. The concept was also submitted with a 2500 word essay/publication on typography (its history, classification and selection etc), a critique of 5 commercial annual reports, a justification for decisions made in the design process and 3 other applications using a similar aesthetic.

I chose Vespa (which currently do not produce their own annual report). The page proportions are 1:1.6, based on the proportion of the wheel base to the height of the biggest selling Vespa model, the ET4. The text block is 1:1.4, from the proportion of the wheel base of an ET4 to total length.

The report is divided in to two sections, with the marketing and reporting information in the first section and detailed financials in the second section. The sections are divided with a few pages of schematic diagrams of the bikes, printed on transparent stock. I wanted to bring the feeling of a workshop manual in to the report. The section breaker uses a texture scanned from an original 1960s manual and an illustration of a 1960s Vespa.

The report uses Mrs Eaves for headings and other display type. Mrs Eaves is an historical revival based on the design of Baskerville. In translating this classic to todays digital font technology, I focused on capturing the warmth and softness of letterpress printing that often occurs due to the gain of impression and ink spread. - Zuzana Licko. I chose this face because I wanted to reference a classical design though form and the feel of traditional printing, which I think reflects the brand values of Vespa.

Mrs Eaves was a bit uncomfortable when setting long paragraphs of copy so I selected Giovanni for all body copy. Giovanni is the work of the Californian type designer Robert Slimbach, whose goal was to create a face of classic old style proportions that was nevertheless thoroughly contemporary. Giovanni was given a modern feel with slightly shortened ascenders and descenders, a slightly larger x-height and optically lighter capitals. I think this reflect the products Vespa is making now, a form that still retains the classic design of early Vespas but with modern conveniences.