Clarity through transformation
Client: Spark
In a year of transformation, Spark’s 2025 report connects clarity, confidence and optimism — signalling readiness for the next phase of growth.
The Brief
FY25 was a challenging year for Spark, with economic pressures, competitive intensity and the early impacts of major technology shifts. Against this backdrop, the business embarked on a transformation plan to return to growth, supported by a new FY26–FY30 strategy (SPK-30) to be announced alongside the annual results.
Spark asked us to create an Annual Report that acknowledged the challenges of the past year while signalling confidence in the new direction. The brief was to convey this transformation ambition clearly and succinctly, while maintaining investor confidence. With a reduced word count and some content migrating online, the report needed to tell a focused story, guided by Spark’s new strategy, in a design that reflected an evolving brand identity.
The Solution
We positioned the 2025 Annual Report as a bridge between “what was” and “what’s next” — both in message and design. Thematically, the report looks back on performance while orienting readers to Spark’s refreshed five-year strategy and transformation plan.
Design-wise, we evolved last year’s Hello Tomorrow theme into a more refined, future-facing interpretation — confident, clean and premium. The tonal aspirations were clear: modern, progressive, optimistic, premium, dynamic and bold, reflecting Spark’s leadership and expertise as it shapes the digital future of Aotearoa.
As the company’s brand refresh was still in development, we had to pivot mid-project to align with its emerging visual direction while still meeting the immovable delivery deadline of this key stakeholder document. Our hybrid design approach balanced adaptability with discipline, anticipating the future brand without pre-empting it. This agility under pressure became a hallmark of the project — enabling us to integrate elements of the evolving visual language while maintaining cohesion and clarity across the entire report.
Visually, the design uses strong colour, graphic line work and modern typography to create a progressive, optimistic tone. Each section is structured to deliver clarity and brevity, using concise storytelling, clear hierarchy and strong imagery. By integrating consistent visual cues and navigational elements, we helped readers engage more intuitively with a condensed document, while hyperlinks connected them to detailed online disclosures and other documents in the reporting suite — including the Climate-related Disclosures, ESG Data Pack, Corporate Governance Statement and Modern Slavery Statement.
Overall, the report embodies Spark’s transformation message — modern, agile and forward-looking — while reinforcing its reputation for transparency, governance strength and performance discipline.
The Results
The FY25 Annual Report successfully introduced Spark’s transformation narrative and new strategic direction with confidence and clarity. It marks a transition point for the brand — aligning content, structure and design to communicate change in a disciplined, investor-focused way.
By striking the right balance between reflection and renewal, and bridging legacy and future visual systems, the report helps Spark present itself as ready for tomorrow — in both message and form.
