We delivered a bright, refreshing look for NICE’s employee newsletters.

Challenge

Newsletters are one of the most effective methods of communicating a message in a more relaxed and informal way. NICE – part of the NHS – asked us to design their employee newsletters with a bright, refreshing look. The organisation wanted to steer away from a sober, corporate-looking newsletter and instead needed us to create a piece of employee communication that really stood out from all the other documents employees are exposed to daily.

Solution

With two main offices, one in London and one in Manchester, and numerous employees dotted around the country, print and distribution of the newsletters would have added significantly to our client’s budget, so instead we created a suite of electronic newsletters, distributed by email and also hosted on the NICE intranet.

The newsletters immediately achieved high levels

of readership, and went on to receive

a CIPR PRide Award for Internal Publication.

Working within the NHS brand guidelines and colour palette – very bright and bold – we had the perfect launch pad for the design. We created bold page layouts and feature spreads, using modern typography and creative use of colours. We developed key graphics for regular features, giving each of the employee newsletters a mixture of familiarity and freshness.

Getting the design of the covers right was absolutely crucial to set the document apart and give it a strong identity. Our aim was to make it an attractive piece that employees couldn’t wait to get hold off. We decided on a magazine-style cover, developing a strong, typographic masthead and complementing it with a bold, colourful striking image, inspired either by a lead story or the seasons.