Pirelli's Annual Report meets art and literature

A, B and C, three letters to put the numbers “in alphabetical order”: the 2011 Annual Report tells the Pirelli story. In a return to the tradition of drawing art and the discovery of young talent closer to the business, the numbers in the Pirelli financial statement are mingled with specially-commissioned illustrations and writings that reveal company’s the more intangible side. In order to give form and visibility to its intangible assets, Pirelli has chosen the creativity of the young Dutch illustrator Stefan Glerum and has involved four writers of international fame: Javier Cercas, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, William Least Heat-Moon and Guillermo Martinez. Pirelli therefore transforms its financial statement into a publication to read, browse through and keep. The writers’ reflections and illustrator’s creativity blend into the graphics of art director, Francesco Valtolina, that transform the financial statement into an object of design. In order to make the contents of the 2011 financial statement available in a quick and simple manner, Pirelli has created a free iPad application that you can download from the Apple Store. Thanks to its advanced browsing capabilities, the app isn’t just about numbers, words and pictures, but also offers additional multimedia content commenting on the economic and financial figures.