What you see is not what you get: Articulating annual reports with Barthesian analysis

Since the middle of the twentieth century, pictures and images have become widespread in annual reports (ARs). Yet, what do these visuals tell us? Understanding the underlying meaning of these visuals and why and when they are used by a company is important to determine how they verbalize the company’s visions and thoughts, and to what extent they reflect a company’s behavior and claims of commitment towards various economic and social issues.

This case study applies Barthesian analysis to read and interpret visuals in ARs. Such analysis falls into the category of what is called semiotics - the study of signs and their meaning in society. Often the focus is on texts, but semiotic analysis can also include visual signs, which we will focus on here. A Barthesian semiotic analysis of these visuals relies on various techniques to communicate meaning.

One takes its focus on “interpreting” the visual in a denotative (literal) context. Another focuses on interpreting the connotative (“hidden”) meaning of the visual. With the increased awareness of gender gaps in the UK, and many companies striving toward a more equal distribution of leadership roles between male and female directors, Barthesian analysis in this study pays attention to visuals related to gender and diversity issues, analyzing direct and hidden meanings behind these images, and evaluating how they corroborate claims regarding gender and diversity issues made by companies within the text of their ARs.