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The Children in Care Kit - designed by Optima and children in care for Children’s Services

By Rhona, Graphic Designer on 01 December 2010 | Category: Projects 0 comments

Since joining Optima in October 2009 I have had the privilege of being part of some really exciting projects, but The Children in Care Kit might just eclipse the others.

Working with Jayne, Matt and Julian, our brief was to create a document which would be given to all children and young people entering the Care system in Lincolnshire.

For children entering the care system it is likely to be a stressful and uncertain time. Our document would accompany them on their journey so would need to serve as a resource but also perhaps as reassurance that they were in good hands. We felt that we had to get the angle just right between being informative and sensitive, but also child-friendly.

Straight away it was decided to involve some of the young people currently within the care system, which was a great call in ensuring they felt ownership over something designed for them and those in similar situations. And so earlier this year we held a fantastic albeit slightly unorthadox meeting with Sammy, Raymond, Chloe and Holly, representatives of the Children in Care Council, who all had clear ideas about what they wanted from the kit and were extremely helpful and enthusiastic.

The resulting Children in Care Kit featured a series of bright and colourful illustrations designed to appeal to children of all ages and both sexes. A folder, partially transparent to encourage ownership by personalising inner pages, came with dividers and inner pages specific to primary or secondary aged children, a business card holder and a drawstring bag, all featuring the Care Kit characters. In addition, we designed corresponding business cards for social workers and independent reviewing officers to give to young people for their pack.

It was a great job for me as my background lies in illustration, and it was rewarding to get involved with such a project. The finished kit credited Sammy, Raymond, Chloe and Holly in addition to Optima, and were very well received by Children's Services and the Children in Care Council alike, with the characters now being used in other care services publications.

Colin Hopkirk, Participation lead for Children's Services: 'Working with Rhona and Julian enbled us to include children and young people fully in the process; creating text, exploring design options and developing a branding for Looked After Children in the county that has been well received by children, staff and carers alike. The CIC kit is now going out to all 500 Looked After Children in Lincolnshire, and we are working to develop a version that's accessible for children with learning disabilites and their carers.'

I am proud of the kit we've designed but ultimately If this kit ends up helping children and young people entering care, that's where success on this project can be recognised.