Red Elephant worked across three related research projects: the HSBC Quality of Life Report 2024, produced in partnership with the University of Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre; the Affluent Investor Snapshot; and the HSBC Life x Value of Insurance Article. Alongside these, the engagement covered supporting decks, whitepapers, infographics and campaign visuals. The finished materials were approved across departments and distributed in four languages, across many markets.
Each of the three projects started from research that was statistically dense by design, survey data across markets, index scores, findings that only mean something once compared one figure against another.
Client
HSBC
Sector
Banking,
Insurance,
Wealth Management
Services
Campaign Key Visual Design,
Data Visualisation,
Research Report Design,
Infographic Design,
Whitepaper Design,
Presentation Design,
Illustration
Context
The Quality of Life Report alone drew on responses from 11,230 affluent investors across 11 markets, scored against physical wellness, mental wellness and financial fitness, and measured against four financial planning pillars. None of that is simple to read as a spreadsheet, and none of it is simple to visualise without losing accuracy in the process. That’s the specific problem this engagement solved: turning statistically dense, multi-market research into report design, data visualisation and campaign material that HSBC could put in front of clients, investors and the public, in four languages, without the numbers or the message drifting between formats.
HSBC Quality of Life Report
An annual study of wellbeing and financial resilience, produced in partnership with the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre. The 2024 edition surveyed 11,230 affluent investors across 11 markets, tracked an overall Quality of Life Index, and broke findings down across physical wellness, mental wellness and financial fitness, and across four financial planning pillars: healthcare protection, wealth accumulation, retirement and legacy planning. The underlying findings include cross-tabulated statistics, for example how much more likely someone with strong financial planning habits is to report high wellbeing, the kind of data that needs a chart to be understood at a glance, and needs to stay accurate while it’s simplified.
Affluent Investor Snapshot
A report built for potential investors and affluent audiences, combining infographics, statistics and illustrations into a fast, visually structured read. Distributed by email and on HSBC’s own sites, in four languages, across many countries.
HSBC Life x Value of Insurance
A publication combining infographics, illustrations and campaign key visuals, built to carry insurance research into a compact, shareable format. Same reach: four languages, many countries, distributed by email and on HSBC’s own sites.
Challenges
Statistical research, not a story
The Quality of Life Report’s real value sits in comparisons, an index score, cross-tabulated findings across wellbeing dimensions and financial planning pillars. Turning that into visuals meant keeping the comparisons intact, not just picking a few numbers and making them look nice.
One body of research, several formats
The same underlying findings had to hold together across a full report, a fast-read snapshot, and a single campaign visual, each read differently, each needed its own structure, without the message drifting between them.
Four languages, many markets, financial subject matter
Nothing here could afford to lose precision in translation. Financial planning and insurance are subjects where getting a number or a claim slightly wrong matters more than it would in most content.
Solutions
Data visualisation for statistical research
We worked from HSBC’s underlying research data (index scores, cross-tabulated findings across markets and financial planning pillars) to build a chart and visual hierarchy system that stayed accurate to the data while being legible to a reader outside the research team.
One visual and narrative direction, several formats
We set the hierarchy, chart language, iconography and imagery once, then adapted the depth and pacing per format, full report, snapshot, deck, whitepaper, campaign visual, so the findings stayed recognisably the same story wherever they appeared.
HSBC Quality of Life Report 2024
We designed the report and data visualisation for a multi-market study produced with the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre, translating index scores and cross-tabulated wellbeing and financial planning data into a report readers outside the research team could follow.
Affluent Investor Snapshot
A report of infographics, statistics and illustrations, giving potential investors and affluent audiences a fast, accurate way into the research.
HSBC Life x Value of Insurance Article
Infographics, illustrations and campaign key visuals carrying the value-of-insurance research into a compact publication.
Supporting decks, whitepapers and key visual
A campaign key visual, developed across a couple of directions, plus supporting infographics reused across presentations and other reports and pages.
Achivements and Conclusion
Three research projects, statistically dense by design, given one consistent way of being read: as a full report, a fast snapshot, a campaign visual, in four languages, without losing what the numbers actually meant.
- Materials approved across departments before release.
- Distributed in four languages, across many countries.
- Reached audiences by email and on HSBC’s own websites.
- The campaign key visual and supporting infographics carried into other presentations, reports and pages beyond the three named projects.
