When Design Inc were asked to design and publish Surrey Police’s internal newsletter, ‘OffBEAT’ we were delighted. Magazine and newsletter publishing is one of Design Inc’s core capabilities and, for many years, we have supported many companies, brands and organisations with the creative design and print of their publications.
Each year, the Comms Team at Surrey Police run multiple marketing campaigns throughout the country, producing hundreds of educational & informative collateral pieces for the public.
As with the majority of organisations, not all their communications are external. Much of the force’s work is focused on internal comms: Training, Awareness, Compliance, HR, Goal-setting, Planning, Reporting…the list goes on.
‘OffBEAT’ is the name of Surrey Police’s internal newsletter, running for almost 50 years and created to share relevant, interesting and engaging information across all departments of the county’s police force.
And, in 2020, Design Inc are the chosen agency to support the comms team with the design and production of this internal newsletter. Initially for the first two editions of the year and, subsequently – after having received much praise by the colleagues regarding the quality – for the next editions in the year.
The Process
For OffBEAT and the many other internal newsletters we publish, the team at Design Inc use the latest publishing software as well as managing the whole publishing process from start to finish. From the design of the cover through to setting up the artwork for print.
This process begins with understanding the aims of our clients’ publications and this, in turn, enables us to establish a creative brief, project schedule and project team. This may simply include designers and artworkers but, in many cases, also involves the use of copywriters, photographers, illustrators and translators.
Once we have an agreed format and template of the magazine or newsletter design, we begin the process of content population, formatting the text and styling article-specific imagery (either supplied directly from the client, our photographers or through royalty-free image libraries).
PDF proofs are supplied at various stages for feedback & edits and only when the proof is finally signed off does the artwork get sent to print.
Of course, not all newsletters are printed, some are kept as digital copies to be shared on external sites such as Issuu.
In terms of OffBEAT newsletter, we provide the client with both hard copies (print) and a digital version (PDF) for them to share on their intranet.
We are proud to support Surrey Police with the internal newsletter design and we look forward to supporting them for years to come with OffBEAT.
Client Comment
‘OffBEAT’ has been an intrinsic part of our internal comms since 1973! Keeping it fresh is key; this is where Design Inc have really managed to breathe new life into it. Each edition is professional and appealing. They also smash the deadlines – I never have to chase!
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