Template Library
Summary
The Communications team at Hackney Council has undertaken a project to manage and improve the use of Canva for creating Council publicity materials. This initiative, spurred by concerns over brand guideline non-compliance and unauthorised use of design tools, aims to establish a best-practice working structure. A key component of this project is the creation of a regularly refreshed, professionally designed Council template library, managed by the Hackney Design Studio. The project is ongoing, with a focus on improving communication outputs, increasing understanding of Council branding, and managing access to Canva.
Issue to be resolved
The primary issue identified was the unauthorised use of Canva and other design tools by service areas, leading to publicity materials that did not comply with Council brand guidelines. This adversely affected the Council's brand and reputation. The lack of a structured approach to design and communications meant inconsistent messaging and a need for better alignment with best practice. The objective is to stop this unauthorised use and introduce a working structure that ensures consistent materials in line with brand guidelines.
Action taken
The Communications team's actions include:
Defining use cases and aligning with best practices: Initial surveys and chats are being conducted to define use cases for paid Canva users, and this data will be used to align them with communication planning and delivery best practices.
Onboarding and training: Staff requiring corporate access to Canva will be invited to an onboarding presentation with subsequent documentation, covering the dos and don'ts of using the platform. Training will also cover comms planning, delivery, and evaluation best practices, how to use templates, and the design review process.
Developing a template library: The Hackney Design Studio (HDS) is responsible for creating a suite of branded templates that will be regularly refreshed for service areas to use.
Facilitating bespoke requests: Service areas can now request bespoke Canva templates and toolkits from the Design Team.
Result
The project is ongoing, but a number of actions have already been taken as shown above. The objective is to improve outputs and outcomes, increase understanding of the importance of Council branding, manage access, and monitor/improve output through the Design team's approval of new designs and regular template library feedback.