Manchester council team designs Valuing Older People book
Manchester City Council's creative department has designed a review document for Valuing Older People, the organisation which represents Manchester's elderly.
‘From Sidelines to Centre Stage’ was created to celebrate the organisation's six years in existence.
Designers said they tried to avoid the feel of an annual report, using portraiture to showcase the board members and adopting ‘a traditional book of poetry’ style for the look.
All elements of the design were chosen to be sympathetic to the needs of older people, from the choice of paper – offset Howard Smith white – to the point size and subtle tint of black on the typography.
The team said it was essential to make the report as easy to read as possible, describing the design of each page as a "carefully balance" so not to overwhelm the reader.
Full-page images aim to portray the board members as the heroes of the piece and the monochrome effect looks to "evoke drama and convey the importance of the role these people play in their community".
Creative director Ian Smith said: "It's absolutely perfect - it's the best piece of design for print that I've ever had anyone produce. The typography is beautifully crafted.
"Credit goes not only to the designer, Chris Jennings, but also to the client who gave us the freedom, and when that's the case great things happen."