New work: Campaign to get Hertfordshire’s teens ‘Work Ready’

We all know employment isn’t just about academic skills. I leapt at the chance to create designs for Hertfordshire LEP’s ‘Get Work Ready’ secondary school campaign as it promotes the value of ‘soft’ skills too. Here are the results!

‘Get Work Ready’ is a campaign to enhance careers education for young people. The initiative is driven by Hertfordshire LEP, in partnership with University of Hertfordshire, YC Hertfordshire and Hertfordshire County Council. It aims to provoke classroom discussion, maximise engagement and provide a sense of empowerment.

The campaign supports the roll-out of a wider resource pack (Hertfordshire Employers’ Skills Framework) to over 150 Hertfordshire secondary schools. The resources encourage young people to make informed careers choices based on labour market information, alongside strengthening ties between local schools and employers.

The design brief

I was commissioned by Hertfordshire LEP to design visuals for the campaign. It was clear their corporate branding wouldn’t appeal to a teen audience, so I started by working with the in-house communications team to develop a strong design brief. As well as a mini brand identity to unify the campaign, the project involved designing a series of posters and information sheets. 

Creating a relevant campaign identity

First, I created a bold, colourful and fun visual identity to resonate with the target secondary school audience. For typography, I paired a friendly, rounded typeface with an ‘edgier’ display font. I designed simple, emoji-inspired graphics with a comic book feel to illustrate the campaign. It’s a look that’ll be noticed by the young people that matter. The identity has a strong impact when implemented across the comms materials, gets the message across quickly and brings the campaign to life. 

Poster design to promote ‘soft’ skills

When it comes to applying for jobs, it’s not just about what you know. Soft skills – emotional and personal skills – are desirable in most professions. A suite of six posters were designed to make that clear, promoting the skills and attributes that Hertfordshire employers have identified as essential. The poster graphics help young people identify at a glance what they are good at, so they can demonstrate the set of skills that employers value and improve their work readiness.

Showing the facts: infographic design

The ‘Get Work Ready’ campaign factsheets provide concise, simple messaging on labour market opportunities to young people (age 14-18), parents/guardians and teachers. They were designed using easy-to-view infographics and bite-sized copy to present relevant information clearly. There are handout factsheets for each of the ten Hertfordshire districts, as well as one for the county as a whole.

“They look great! Really eye-catching.”

Rashmi Pillai, Communications Manager, Hertfordshire LEP 

The campaign design was well received by Hertfordshire LEP’s communications team and its partners and has been rolled out to schools across the county. Having the information presented clearly has improved engagement and helped careers education providers. And my daughter was proud to see the posters on display in her school – an added bonus! They’re “awesome” apparently :)

Want attention grabbing design for your campaign?

If you have a project you’d like to chat about, I’d love to hear from you! I’m always keen to meet new clients and to hear about your design challenges. If you’d like to understand my process better, please get in touch.