Cognex builds machine vision systems – sophisticated computers that use deep learning to find errors in other machines, or guide manufacturing processes. The company has always had a playful approach to annual reports and their 2020 offering is a quirky, well-designed parody.
The central conceit is that the Chairman has discovered an issue of a magazine from the 1960s which accurately predicts the technology Cognex invented. The magazine is called Popular Science, and the Chairman ‘posts it’ to friends.
Cognex’s magazine is based on the real Popular Science Monthly – begun in 1872 and still in existence today (as a digital publication). The Cognex version leans joyfully into all aspects of the design – uncoated paper discoloured by age; two-colour illustration; quizzes and advertisements; as well as the writing voice of the original (except for the financials, which are in a separate document).
The articles in the magazine explain Cognex’s work and vision, using the breathless, optimistic tone of science magazines from the 50s and 60s. Some of the Company’s existing machines are described as yet to be invented, which is a nice touch. The report features only a handful of photographs that are clearly modern and while jarring, they are necessary to tie in the very real businesses that use Cognex’s technology.
Given that this part of the report is only 14 pages long and densely packed, it feels like a magazine – it has articles of varying length, faux adverts, and competitions. It invites and rewards re-reading – something not many annual reports can claim.
See our review of the Cognex 2017 report here: https://www.crunite.net/machine-vision-human-heart/
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