Based in Colorado, Alterra Mountain Co. owns and operates around 19 mountain holiday destinations and ski resorts. It also offers services in hospitality, real estate development, food and beverage, retail, heli-skiing services, ski technology and rental delivery.
Alterra’s 2024 annual impact report is titled ‘Forward Stance’ in reference to the skiing position where a skier’s body is held with their centre of gravity towards the front of their skis. This allows for fast and controlled movement on snow. The design of the report conveys the idea of controlled forward movement in a number of ways.
The primary method is through the placement of images. After the introductory pages, most full-page images appearing on a right hand page feature a translucent vertical bar at the gutter. This has the effect of pulling the eye towards the rest of the image, i.e., forward toward the page edge. It’s a clever effect and creates propulsive motion.
A similar effect is achieved by small images that bleed off the page edge; full-bleed double-page spreads; and slim vertical title bars on the page edge that mark the various sections of the report.
The report makes use of a lovely serif that is tightly leaded when used in titles, again conveying the idea of a compact object hurtling through the landscape, like a skier tucked in on a downward slope. This series of simple but effective choices elevates the report.
