30 May 2018

Girlguiding UK

Customer: Girlguiding UK
Services provided by A2i: Production of full colour large print (Graphic Design Adaptation)

Pat Wheatley, administrative assistant at Girlguiding UK wrote: “Thank you for the excellent work on our Guide G file for visually-impaired young members. I know this resource will go a long way to support girls and the leaders and will be very much appreciated.”

Girlguiding UK  

Girlguiding UK is the largest youth organisation for girls in the country.

Opening up a world of opportunities that will last a lifetime, it provides a safe, girl-only environment in which to experience activities and challenges, and explore issues facing girls today.

The spectrum of activities is enormous, ranging from outdoor challenges to learning new skills and from international travel to involvement in community action projects.

Requirements

To keep track of activities, record experiences and manage a variety of important information, Girlguiding UK developed a handbook for Guides, aged 10-14, called the “G file”.

The organisation approached A2i to help them develop a large print version of the G file that would be suitable for visually-impaired girls. Girlguiding UK wanted to retain as much of the original design as possible including all photos, diagrams, colourful shapes and backgrounds, as well as the stickers in the back. This would ensure that visually-impaired Guides wouldn’t miss out on anything and would have the same fun in using the handbook as everyone else.

The large print version would also have to fit into the A5-sized ring binders that Girlguiding UK uses to secure the G files.

The solution

After a thorough consultation with the client, A2i’s team began to redesign the G file within the specification given. To make the G file accessible, A2i had to adjust several design features, including:

• using different colour combinations to make them suitable for people with visual impairment,
• re-positioning large print text and images, and
• redesigning stickers to accommodate large type.

Following approval of the design by Girlguiding UK, A2i produced an initial 100 copies of the large print G file. The organisation and its members were delighted with the result. A2i had managed to produce a G file that appears extremely similar to the original version, ensuring that visually impaired Guides don’t feel any different from their fully-sighted peers. Additionally, the A2i’s one-stop solution had provided cost inefficiencies as well as high-quality consultation, design services and production.

With the introduction of the large print G file, Girlguiding UK has made certain that it meets requirements laid down by the Equality Act, and more importantly that it helps all visually impaired members to enjoy the guiding experience to the full.

Girlguiding UK has since ordered reprints of the G file document, plus the conversion to large print of several other Girlguiding UK documents with very similar problems, requirements and solutions, including:

• Patrol x-tra
• Brownie Badge Book
• Brownie Adventures

A2i look forward to working with Girlguiding UK on more documents in the future.

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