The Salters’ Company annual review 2023/24...
Human stories can tell us much about an organisation’s work and its impact. In this, my fourth annual review for City Livery Company the Salters’ Company, the stories are in people’s own words.
Operationally, the annual review has had its own human factors, timed through staff leave and this year, with changes in personnel and organisational duties.
And in the production of a publication with an event deadline, it’s as important to give everyone time to do their job well as it is to deliver on time.
So design has involved a lot more than layout.
There’s been support for content-gathering, providing a visual guide to word counts and image resolution.
We’ve thought editorially, discussing how we should treat first-person stories in a variety of writing styles – whether we should dress them all the same or let our typography reflect the different voices.
Knowledge has been important, providing feedback on images from multiple sources and advice as design and materials preferences have changed.
And there’s been rolling project management, providing the flexibility that the Salters Company has needed while checking in on production.
In communications, we talk a lot about understanding who we’re designing for. And that’s as much about designing processes for people in an organisation as it is about designing publications for its audiences.
