Situation

I led creative on a global launch for a new cancer treatment. The brief was 22+ patient and HCP pieces across print, digital and video, delivered in about two months. The brand had been created elsewhere, and our job was to build from its guidelines everything patients, carers and clinicians would need.

Challenge

Work at this volume and speed is usually approached in a linear way. Content is written and approved, then handed to design to lay out. It gets things done, but every hand-off is a chance to lose sight of what the materials are for, and who they are for.

These pieces were meant to help patients and their care teams work through treatment together. Making them needed an approach where nobody lost sight of either. To keep 22 pieces consistent and on time, and make them something people would use, writing, account and design had to work together from the brief onwards.

Approach

I took responsibility for making the design carry the same intent as the content. Before the first layouts went round, I asked to meet the client to show how we planned to approach the design, not just apply the guidelines. Getting the client behind that direction early gave the whole team confidence in it. The writers and account team could see where the design was going and stand behind it with us.

"Balancing craft and speed, he was able to set out a new creative style for a patient engagement initiative which received excellent feedback from the client team… he managed [to] collaborate cross-functionally and lead the delivery of 22 assets in just about two months."

– Kaitlyn Sportelli, Group Account Director

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Defining moment

Let's be honest. Nobody wants a welcome kit for their cancer treatment. Everyone reading these materials would rather not need them, and many will be reading them frightened or distracted.

So the design had to take friction out of every page. Clear hierarchy, space to breathe, signposting that tells people where they are, and imagery that feels calm and adult without losing the warmth of the brand.

I had planned five minutes to walk the client through this. It turned into a 25-minute conversation about the brand, and how the layouts could show its commitment to giving patients what they need to take part in their treatment. From then on the design was working towards the same educational goals as the writing.

Results

With the senior designer, I set the templates and standards the team built every piece to, which made the work more consistent and quicker to produce. The client's response has been positive throughout.

The team also works differently now. The lead designer regularly suggests shorter headings or small copy edits so content sits better in a layout. The writers draft booklet content in spread-based templates, so everyone can see early how much fits on a page. Layout problems now get caught while the content is still being written. Seemingly simple changes in how the team works. They led me to propose a new creative SOP that would bring this more circular, collaborative way of working to all our accounts.

"When he first joined, design sat towards the end of a largely linear process, often brought in to execute rather than to shape… Design is now an integral part of project delivery from the outset, contributing to thinking, problem-solving and strategy as well as execution."

     – Alexandra Loveday, Scientific Director

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