The introduction

We were asked to create research report designs to showcase findings from a global survey of high net worth individuals about wealth, giving and legacy planning.

The client

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the division of The Economist Group that provides data, research and analysis on a range of industries and topics of global significance. RBC Wealth Management offers advice and wealth management services to individuals, families and institutions and has offices in the UK, North America, the Caribbean and Asia.

The project

The EIU asked 1,051people in Canada, the US, UK and Asia with “US$1 million or more in investable assets” about their attitudes to wealth and wealth management. The survey found that women not only owned and controlled greater wealth than ever before, they were also changing the direction of wealth management and the aims of wealth creation.

The extensive questions resulted in a large amount of response data from which we produced a digital research report design outlining the main project findings, six country and industry-specific editorial articles and four infographics with re-purposed assets to help promote the campaign on social media.

The approach

For this project, the client had very extensive guidelines about everything – from typeface to images. But branding that is prescriptive does not always hamper creativity and that’s important to remember. We used standard bar charts for the report design and articles and, by applying all rules we keep in the office drawer marked ‘best practice’, we ensured they were accurate, clear and professional, like everything we do.

Images were critical and we spent a lot of time searching and selecting a large library from which to narrow down and select a final set of thirteen images. These photos not only needed to adhere to the client’s criteria, but also to work as a complete set across the whole campaign. This was harder than it seemed, and required a fair amount of editing to match light effects, colours and composition. The selection also needed to show women who appeared as high-net-worth individuals, and a diverse range of demographics, such as nationality and age.  

The outcome

At NWC Design, we were delighted with the results and our exacting clients were too. We highlighted the key findings while not distorting the facts or confusing the reader. We had produced a massive 44 individual data visualisations, all within the client rules and all engaging and accurate and that took a long time.