managing information in the NHS

NHS Haringey Community Heath Services has some two dozen service provision teams offering a greater number of individual services, most of which need to provide patients with crucial information about their general health, specific conditions and treatments.  These communications, often in different languages, were produced without a common oversight of production or content.

A detailed audit of over 50 items of internally and externally produced patient information in numerous formats led to a new design management approach and the provision of guidelines for content, from specifics like team identification, contact and location details (above) – to general layout, typographic style and structure; use of imagery; colour.  Electronic templates for key formats were produced to simplify production and design decision-making internally and externally.

Clear design standards and guidelines now ensure patients can have clearer, more accessible information – and that they also know how and where to find more help when they need it.



Britannia rules

Part of the Tindall Riley insurance group, Britannia is a marine hull insurance company with a long history and well-established name in its field. By ‘contemporising’ a very traditional brand property (a seal featuring an engraving of Britannia) the company’s positive brand equity was retained whilst bringing it fully up-to-date.

As well as designing numerous specific applications, a brand guidelines document was produced, enabling the client to consistently manage and control the brand, day-to-day. The manual included specifications for all communications from stationery to rulebooks and the company’s annual report. Its success was such that the stylistic approach and identity guidelines were also applied to its French sister company, Marianne.

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Virtuall: cost-effective information

Virtuall was the first London-wide mental health charity.  Without substantial resources this organisation brought together all the agencies and individuals involved in mental health in the capital using seminars, publications and its website – so the role of cost-effective communications was crucial.

We conducted a visual audit of Virtuall’s communications, refocused its brand identity and produced specifications, guidelines and a range of individual communications such as the Update newsletter: a low-cost publication designed to maintain regular contact with its diverse constituency.

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Regents Business School brand management

One of a small group of educational institutions housed at Regents College in London’s Regents Park, RBS London had an unfocused visual identity that failed to reflect its growing international stature, popularity, and autonomy. Having decided not to take the more dramatic step of creating, launching and supporting an entirely new brand from scratch, Alembic was asked to review, develop and redeploy the existing brand properties to reflect a much more businesslike appearance and create a clear distinction from Regents College.

Alembic conducted a design audit of the school’s communications and devised a design strategy and guidelines to establish new high standards of consistency and quality. We rationalised issues such as naming, typography, colour use and production quality, redesigned the prospectus and established templates for stationery, advertising, literature and the school’s website.

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 Having invested in the development of a new brand or visual identity, protecting that investment by managing it appropriately is essential.  We have worked with clients of all sizes in this area from small charities like Virtuall to international businesses such as Petrogal S.A.  We are careful to adjust our approach to suit the resources and nature of the organisation as appropriate.