Design Matters – Ed. 09 April 24
Letter from the Team…
Hi Everyone,
We hope you’re all well and enjoying some good weather!
First and foremost, a warm welcome to all newcomers. Design Matters is our monthly newsletter, dedicated to sharing industry insights, design tips, work from the agency, spotlights on changemakers, upcoming events and more. Our goal is to provide valuable resources for everyone working to push their brand, business or charity forward – and to keep you informed about the latest trends in design, sustainability and social impact.
Many of our new subscribers this month have discovered us through our Design for Good grant programme. Reviewing the applications has been an inspiration, reaffirming our belief in the abundance of amazing people and organisations in our local third sector. A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to share and respond to our call for applications. Shortlisting is taking place as we speak so stay tuned!
In other news… we’re pleased to announce that we now have an office in London! Second Home (literally for us) is a B Corp certified workspace in London Fields (E8 3RH). The team is also very excited about their workspace in Lisbon. If you’re based in the area, London that is, come and see us for a coffee!
Ed, Issy and The Discourse team
Our latest blog:
It’s widely acknowledged that charities need a website, but in today’s saturated digital landscape, simply having an online presence is not enough.
Your website represents a huge opportunity, so how do you leverage your site to support users, attract funders, celebrate your impact, and build a community around the incredible work that you do? Read the blog on our website through the link below.
Read more here.
The DIY Designer
Colour plays a crucial role in design – influencing perceptions, emotions, and actions. In this month’s edition of “The DIY Designer,” we explore the power of colour in design and its impact on brand activation, accessibility, and cultural expression.
Discover how the right palette can evoke specific emotions and create deeper connections with your audience. These resources will guide you in making informed colour choices, ensuring your designs are not only colourful and visually appealing, but also accessible and culturally relevant.
“The Designer’s Dictionary of Colour” by Sean Adams is a comprehensive guide that explores the history, cultural significance, psychology and the practical use of colour in design. It provides insights into each colour’s symbolism, notable shades, and design applications – offering designers a rich resource for creating compelling, meaningful and colourful visuals.
Adobe’s Colour Contrast Analyser is a web-based tool designed to support compliance with accessibility standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Users can input colours to check contrast ratios, ensuring text and visuals are legible. The tool provides a clear assessment of contrast levels, helping designers create accessible and inclusive content.
An online colour palette generator that allows users to create, share, and explore colour schemes. You can extract colour palettes from images, explore trending palettes, and use gradient and collage makers. Coolors has additional resources like a font list, Chrome extension, and integration with Figma and Creative Cloud. It’s a useful tool for designers and creators.
“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein
Work from the Agency
With the RUHX’s Walk of Life 2024 taking place on the 11th of May, it felt like the perfect opportunity to showcase the event branding and content production work we did with the charity this time last year. RUHX is the official NHS charity of the Royal United Hospitals Bath, who work closely with the community, collaborating with the people and organisations who drive real world change.
We collaborated with the marketing and events team at RUHX on their flagship annual fundraising event – to develop their messaging and the visuals for the campaign. This centred around harnessing community spirit and the benefits of the Walk of Life – how it’s not just a walk, but the positive impact it has in many other ways for walkers, patients, staff and the hospital
For more information on the 2024 event visit: ruhx.org.uk/events/walk-of-life
Think global...
Geoidentity emerged from Giorgia Malandrino’s research on and cooperation with refugees and displaced individuals, transcending geographical borders to become a universal system for all. Every time a refugee needs to escape because of war, political religious persecutions and climate change, they lose access to vital personal documents, such as graduated or present student certificates.
Find out more about their innovative blockchain solution to this problem and how you can get involved here.
Act Local...
Sensing Climate is placing disabled people at the forefront of the climate crisis. Their research embeds the expertise of disabled people in new strategies to navigate a changing world.
Disabled people make up 16% of the global population and are at particular risk of climate disruption. This is partly through climate events exacerbating existing health conditions but also through exclusion from climate action.
Check out the work they are doing and how to get involved here.
Solutions for the planet:
The B Corp community has just hit another major milestone; there are officially 2,000 of us! Whilst no two B Corps are the same, what we are all in agreement is that business needs to change and the hard work needs to happen right now.
The now 2000 strong B Corp community, will be taking over the city of Oxford on 10th-11th September for the Louder Than Words festival. Join us alongside 2,000 other attendees for inspiring headline speakers and 20+ pop-up events throughout the city. Find out more here.
In our spare time...
Humans are biassed. Generative AI is even worse! We attended a fascinating seminar at ChangeNOW 2024 on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. Leonardo Nicoletti from Bloomberg LP discussed his research and explained how Generative AI doesn’t just replicate biases, it amplifies them and makes stereotypes of gender and race much worse.
His recent article goes into some of the inherent biases and prejudices online which AI exacerbates. A really interesting (and concerning) read for anybody curious about AI. Read the full article here.
