Shannon Trust is a charity which helps people in prison to improve their reading, writing and numeracy. For reading and writing they run learner-led programmes called Turning Pages and Write Now, the latter being the books we helped to design for this project. From a graphic design perspective the classification of this project could be seen as ‘textbook design’; however given that Shannon Trust assigns mentors to work through the books with learners they are more of a learning guide/resource.
The Write Now series comprises five books totalling 692 pages, encompassing embedded reading books, questions and activities. Prior to us getting involved, talented printmaker and designer Amy Mellis had added about 40% of the content to InDesign documents; we worked on the remaining books as well as making final amendments across the whole series ready for print. We also helped out with small amendments to the Shannon Trust Count Me In numeracy books [but this page is not about them].
Big thanks to the following folks at Shannon Trust: Milly Connelly for commissioning and project management; Sarah Stokes for the inventive activity design ideas and professional collaboration; James Argent for allowing us to work on the Count Me In manual design; Megan Jackson for watchful eyes on the proofing; Jonathan Dye for expert knowledge on everything printing.
The textbook cover design use a simple colour-coded system.
The styling was mostly set when we picked it up – large sans-serifs Helvetica and Aller, simple icons and a limited dark-blue colour palette. For some of the later textbooks we expanded the element and layout libraries to suit certain sections but stayed tight to the original designs which work perfectly for neurodiverse learners. User experience for neurodiverse people often focuses on digital design like apps and websites but a booklet design must also consider this of utmost importance. BTW, this guide is really, really good: https://neurodiversity.design.
Large type sizes and plenty of space help the learner progress.
Embedded reading books get progressively complex through the series.
All of the activities were written by Sarah Stokes. We worked with Sarah to make the graphic design of activities interesting and varied.
Most of the images on this page are not real photos but ‘PSD mockups’ i.e. created electronically in Photoshop. The image to the left [or above on mobile screen] is a real one, and we’ve included it to show you the actual paper stock that Shannon Trust use – 120gsm Munken Pure Rough.
It’s a consideration because stark white paper is not a good inclusive choice for people with dsylexia or some other neurodiverse conditions. You can read more on the Rhino Stationery website.
ISBN: 978-1-7395358-6-5
Copyright © Shannon Trust 2024
Written by Shannon Trust and Sarah Stokes; Designed by Amy Mellis
Fish and Chips
Written by June Lewis and Heather Hollands, SfL Materials; Illustrated by Ben Hasler/NB Illustrations
Big Bang
Written by Heather Hollands, SfL Materials; Illustrated by Ben Swift/NB Illustrations
Dog Fox
Written by June Lewis, SfL Materials; Illustrated by David Young/NB Illustrations
ISBN: 978-1-7395358-7-2
Copyright © Shannon Trust 2024
Written by Shannon Trust and Sarah Stokes; Designed by Amy Mellis
Bob, Jan and Rex
Written by Susie O’Hagan; Illustrated by Ben Hasler
Speed Kings
Written by June Lewis, SfL Materials; Illustrated by Richard Osley/NB Illustrations
Donna
Written by Heather Hollands, SfL Materials; Illustrated by Richard Osley/NB Illustrations
ISBN: 978-1-7395358-8-9
Copyright © Shannon Trust 2024
Written by Shannon Trust and Sarah Stokes; Designed by Amy Mellis and Simon Paterson
Bob, Jan and Rex: The Flat
Written by Susie O’Hagan; Illustrated by Ben Hasler
The Long Road
Written by Conn Mac Gabhann; Illustrated by David Young/NB Illustrations
The Cotton Mill Ghost
Written by Heather Hollands, SfL Materials; Illustrated by Eoin Coveney/NB Illustrations
ISBN: 978-1-7395358-9-6
Copyright © Shannon Trust 2024
Written by Shannon Trust and Sarah Stokes; Designed by Amy Mellis and Simon Paterson
Bob, Jan and Rex: The Yard
Written by Susie O’Hagan; Illustrated by Ben Hasler
The Kushti Screeve (The Very Good Car)
Written by RR O’Neill; Illustrated by Jo Goodberry
The Ship
Written by Anj Cairns; Illustrated by Stephen Lee
ISBN: 978-1-0686320-0-6
Copyright © Shannon Trust 2024
Written by Shannon Trust and Sarah Stokes; Designed by Amy Mellis and Simon Paterson
The Holiday
Written by Susie O’Hagan; Illustrated by Ben Hasler
Amazing Lives
Written by June Lewis; Illustrated by Lon Chan
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