My Role

As the lead Product Designer, I worked alongside a cross-functional team to create a cohesive and visually compelling FY24 Look Back Report, an 80-slide retrospective that highlighted key achievements, challenges, and lessons from the fiscal year. My primary focus was to simplify complex data and charts, translating them into easily digestible insights for senior leadership and key stakeholders, enabling data-driven decision-making.

The Problem:

As the fiscal year ended, it was evident that a thorough review of past performance was essential. However, the existing report process was fragmented and lacked a cohesive narrative. Stakeholders faced several key challenges:

• Information Overload: The report contained a high volume of data, and presenting all the information at once risked overwhelming the readers.

• Inconsistent Communication: Different departments submitted their results in various formats, leading to inconsistencies in how achievements and metrics were conveyed.

• Time Constraints: The report had to be finalized in a short amount of time, making it difficult to ensure a cohesive, streamlined design that would resonate with a wide audience.

Key Challenge: How might we synthesize complex, fragmented data into a cohesive, visually engaging Look Back report that not only informs but drives decision-making?

Objective

The objective was to create a visually compelling and cohesive fiscal year-end report that distills complex data into actionable insights. The report had to:

• Present data in a way that was clear and digestible.

• Be consistent across departments and teams.

• Enable stakeholders to quickly understand the key takeaways and apply them to future decision-making.

Design Strategy

Discovery to Design
Through stakeholder interviews, we identified key pain points that the report needed to address: overwhelming amounts of data, inconsistent messaging, and the need for speed in delivering the final product. I structured the report to highlight the most important insights upfront, allowing stakeholders to digest high-level information before diving deeper.

Experience Architecture
I divided the report into sections that aligned with key themes and business objectives. Each section followed a consistent structure: key insights, challenges, results, and action items. This made the report easy to navigate and allowed for quick scanning of relevant data.

Visual Design Principles

• Strategic Data Visualization: I focused on creating clear, digestible visuals (charts, graphs, and trend lines) to present data in a way that was engaging and easy to understand.

• Consistency in Layout: I used consistent templates across the report, ensuring that each department’s presentation adhered to the same format, which reduced confusion and enhanced readability.

• Simplicity and Clarity: The design prioritized simplicity, ensuring the most important insights were immediately apparent to the reader.

Outcome & Results

• Improved Stakeholder Engagement: The report became a go-to tool for senior executives during several days of meetings, guiding business decisions and fostering alignment across teams.

• Faster Decision-Making: The clear visual presentation of data allowed leadership to make quicker, more informed decisions, significantly reducing time spent on analyzing raw data.

• Actionable Insights: By transforming complex data into easy-to-digest visuals, the report helped senior leadership align on key goals and strategies for the next fiscal year.
  
  Tools: Powerpoint & Figma