Another Colour® https://anothercolour.com.au/ A research-led design agency. Branding — Campaigns — Publications. Sydney, since 2007. Wed, 02 Apr 2025 04:09:28 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.1 Notes that stick https://anothercolour.com.au/notes-that-stick/ Mon, 18 Nov 2024 01:56:30 +0000 https://anothercolour.com.au/?p=8866 The post Notes that stick appeared first on Another Colour®.

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18 November 2024

Notes that stick

Four styles of note-taking to enhance learning and boost retention

From meticulously crafted meeting minutes, to quick and messy scribbles on Post-Its, note-taking is a practice familiar to us all, blending order and spontaneity in ways that are uniquely our own.

Note-taking can be a powerful tool for boosting the retention of information, breaking down complex topics, or creating a list of key action points that are easy to share or review. To get the most out of your notes and determine what works best for you, we’re breaking down some of the most common methods to help you take your note-taking practice to the next level.

The Skeleton Method

The Outline Method, also known as ‘The Skeleton Method’, is one of the most popular and well-known approaches to taking notes. This simple method is often promoted at educational institutes such as schools and universities. It involves creating headings and subheadings for each central theme with a list of keywords and phrases below, creating a natural sense of hierarchy and order throughout the page.

However, summarising content chronologically (i.e. following the order it was delivered in) creates some potential drawbacks: as subheadings are created in a linear format, it can be challenging to estimate how much content must fall under each topic. Adding extra bullets under past subheadings can prove tricky, especially during less structured meetings, brainstorms or creative workshops.

Nonetheless, the Outline Method is a quick and reliable way to record key information in a structured format. Although not as flexible or creative as some of the other methods, Outline notes are applicable to a wide range of contexts and make a handy structure for quickly capturing information.

The Cornell Method

Developed by Cornell professor Walter Pauk in the mid-20th century, the Cornell Method of notetaking has continued to grow steadily in popularity among contemporary audiences. Building off the structured conventions of the traditional Outline Method, Cornell notes extend a step further by emphasising active summarising and ongoing reflection.

Cornell note-taking involves dividing the page into three sections: Key Concepts or Prompts on the left, General Notes on the right, and a Summary spanning across the bottom quarter. Through summarising content in one’s own words, Cornell notes effectively distil complex ideas into simple and memorable prompts, encouraging purposeful note-taking, critical reflection, and long-term retention of information.

Research suggests this method is particularly effective in recording and recalling step-by-step methods, formulas or processes. However, who’s to say Cornell notes can’t become part of your day-to-day?

Curious how this method could look for you? Refer to the gallery above for some further inspo!

1 Pinterest
2 The Conversation
3 Allison Innes

The Mapping Method

A popular approach loved by STEM students, business professionals and creatives alike – could Mapping be the ultimate notetaking method?

The Mapping Method, also known as ‘Mind Mapping’ or ‘Concept Mapping’, involves visually interpreting the links and relationships between various concepts within a diagrammatical structure. As a non-linear note-taking approach (i.e. not reliant on the order in which information is delivered), the Mapping Method offers plenty of flexibility to include as much (or little!) information as needed while allowing additional notes to be inserted under any topic or subheading regardless of when the information was delivered.

The web-like structures create a visual hierarchy, making mind maps not only engaging but also easy to expand upon, share and be interpreted by others. The list of specific features defining a concept map is relatively loose, allowing you to customise and develop your own conventions.

For example, adding symbols or colour can easily introduce further hierarchy. Prefer to work digitally? Add images, typefaces or diagrams to create additional hierarchy or add extra detail to your notes!

1 Pinterest
2 Behance
3 Permaculture

The Sketchnoting Method

The term ‘sketchnoting’, coined by author Michael Rohde in 2006 before publishing his book ‘The Sketchnote Handbook,’ describes the act of combining traditional notetaking with sketched illustrations to enhance memorability.

While it can be tempting to assume sketchnoting should be left to artists and designers, studies suggest everyone can benefit from incorporating visuals into their note-taking to enhance memorability.

According to William Klem, a professor of neuroscience at Texas A&M University, sketchnoting helps create tangible ‘story chains’, allowing the brain to better recall information and related concepts encapsulated in images. Doodling can help improve information retention by up to 29% regardless of whether or not you consider yourself a practising artist — the power lies in the links your mind creates between ideas and images.

The practice takes inspiration from the Mapping Method in its non-linear approach to creating a visual hierarchy. However, by incorporating symbols, icons, visual metaphors and illustrations, sketchnotes can advance deeper by creating new layers of meaning in highly personalised notes with expressions of creative flair.

1 Pinterest
2 flickr
3 Permaculture

Final Thoughts

There is no one-style-fits-all: note-taking is as diverse as personal, with each method offering unique benefits suited to individual learning styles and preferences. Whether you prefer the structured approach of outlining or the Cornell Method, the visual organisation of the Mapping Method, or the creative freedom of Sketchnoting, the key lies in finding what works best for you.

Ultimately, the purpose of taking notes remains constant: to transform information into knowledge that empowers learning and understanding. Experimenting with different techniques can uncover new insights into how you process and retain information effectively — and it may even be worth mixing and matching parts of these four methods to create one unique to your workflow and preferences.

So, embrace the method that resonates most with you, and watch your notes evolve into a powerful tool for learning and personal growth.

Are you looking for the perfect notebook to boost your productivity and take notes in whatever way works best for you? Check out our case study detailing the split designs we created for Jumble & Co. These notebooks feature ruled lines at the top with a dotted layout at the bottom, so you can be structured or free!

The post Notes that stick appeared first on Another Colour®.

]]> Committing to what matters https://anothercolour.com.au/our-company-values/ Wed, 02 Apr 2025 01:28:46 +0000 https://anothercolour.com.au/?p=9551 The post Committing to what matters appeared first on Another Colour®.

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2 April 2025

Notes that stick

Four styles of note-taking to enhance learning and boost retention

From meticulously crafted meeting minutes, to quick and messy scribbles on Post-Its, note-taking is a practice familiar to us all, blending order and spontaneity in ways that are uniquely our own.

Note-taking can be a powerful tool for boosting the retention of information, breaking down complex topics, or creating a list of key action points that are easy to share or review. To get the most out of your notes and determine what works best for you, we’re breaking down some of the most common methods to help you take your note-taking practice to the next level.

The Cornell Method

Developed by Cornell professor Walter Pauk in the mid-20th century, the Cornell Method of notetaking has continued to grow steadily in popularity among contemporary audiences. Building off the structured conventions of the traditional Outline Method, Cornell notes extend a step further by emphasising active summarising and ongoing reflection.

Cornell note-taking involves dividing the page into three sections: Key Concepts or Prompts on the left, General Notes on the right, and a Summary spanning across the bottom quarter. Through summarising content in one’s own words, Cornell notes effectively distil complex ideas into simple and memorable prompts, encouraging purposeful note-taking, critical reflection, and long-term retention of information.

Research suggests this method is particularly effective in recording and recalling step-by-step methods, formulas or processes. However, who’s to say Cornell notes can’t become part of your day-to-day?

Curious how this method could look for you? Refer to the gallery above for some further inspo!

1 Pinterest
2 The Conversation
3 Allison Innes

The Mapping Method

A popular approach loved by STEM students, business professionals and creatives alike – could Mapping be the ultimate notetaking method?

The Mapping Method, also known as ‘Mind Mapping’ or ‘Concept Mapping’, involves visually interpreting the links and relationships between various concepts within a diagrammatical structure. As a non-linear note-taking approach (i.e. not reliant on the order in which information is delivered), the Mapping Method offers plenty of flexibility to include as much (or little!) information as needed while allowing additional notes to be inserted under any topic or subheading regardless of when the information was delivered.

The web-like structures create a visual hierarchy, making mind maps not only engaging but also easy to expand upon, share and be interpreted by others. The list of specific features defining a concept map is relatively loose, allowing you to customise and develop your own conventions.

For example, adding symbols or colour can easily introduce further hierarchy. Prefer to work digitally? Add images, typefaces or diagrams to create additional hierarchy or add extra detail to your notes!

1 Pinterest
2 Behance
3 Permaculture

Design with purpose

Good design is timeless, accessible, and grounded in research and empathy. It transforms insights into tailored, beautiful solutions that work for everyone.

How we live it
Every project, no matter how small, has a research component. We believe in the power of good design and use it to empower our clients’ objectives. We are committed to making our work accessible to all.

Diversity drives us

Embracing individuality fuels our creativity. We champion inclusion and foster an environment where every voice is valued and every colour celebrated.

How we live it
As a team where every staff member belongs to at least one minority or underprivileged group, we realise that our commitment to diversity and inclusion isn’t just a bullet point — it’s personal. And it makes us stronger. We share holiday traditions, celebrate cultural milestones, and stay curious about life outside our personal bubbles.

Better together

Collaboration is where the magic happens. In an environment of shared knowledge and teamwork, we unlock limitless possibilities, showcasing the unique abilities of each team member to achieve our goals.

How we live it
Most projects start with brainstorming, and we encourage each other to speak up. We respectfully seek validation from one another. We conduct regular training sessions to foster a learning environment.

Powered by progress

We ride the wave of technological change, blending creativity with innovation to help shape an inspiring future.

How we live it
Our industry has evolved dramatically, and we embrace technology to stay ahead. Once a print studio, we now produce animated digital campaigns and even television ads. We share discoveries and continuously seek better ways to enhance our work. And yes, this blog post was proofed by ChatGPT and Grammarly.

Quiet voices, big ideas

When egos take a backseat, creativity flourishes. Every contribution is welcomed, and together, we share successes and embrace challenges, proving that humility sparks the best work.

How we live it
We listen. We don’t say “no” without offering an explanation. We recognise and promote each other’s wins, especially when someone is too humble to do so.

Empowered to succeed

Titles don’t limit us; we rise to every challenge and don’t need permission to achieve our goals.

How we live it
We all have our natural talents, but we’ve grown comfortable working beyond our comfort zones. We believe in ourselves and bravely face new challenges despite the barriers we may encounter.

Long-term value, always

Sustainability, trust, and accountability define us. We strive to deliver genuine, lasting value and nurture relationships that stand the test of time.

How we live it
The majority of our clients are repeat customers who have become our friends. They trust us as an extension of their team, and we take a genuine interest in their goals and industries. Our suppliers have supported us through tough times and that’s why we continue to support them.

These values aren’t just for show. They’re our blueprint for daily decisions, big and small. They guide how we interact with clients, shape our creative process, and support one another as a team. This is the foundation of how we show up — for each other, for our clients and for the world.

The post Committing to what matters appeared first on Another Colour®.

]]> Holding Hope for 60 Years https://anothercolour.com.au/holding-hope-for-60-years/ Tue, 12 Dec 2023 02:19:00 +0000 https://anothercolour.com.au/?p=9037 The post Holding Hope for 60 Years appeared first on Another Colour®.

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12 December 2023

Notes that stick

Four styles of note-taking to enhance learning and boost retention

From meticulously crafted meeting minutes, to quick and messy scribbles on Post-Its, note-taking is a practice familiar to us all, blending order and spontaneity in ways that are uniquely our own.

Note-taking can be a powerful tool for boosting the retention of information, breaking down complex topics, or creating a list of key action points that are easy to share or review. To get the most out of your notes and determine what works best for you, we’re breaking down some of the most common methods to help you take your note-taking practice to the next level.

The Cornell Method

Developed by Cornell professor Walter Pauk in the mid-20th century, the Cornell Method of notetaking has continued to grow steadily in popularity among contemporary audiences. Building off the structured conventions of the traditional Outline Method, Cornell notes extend a step further by emphasising active summarising and ongoing reflection.

Cornell note-taking involves dividing the page into three sections: Key Concepts or Prompts on the left, General Notes on the right, and a Summary spanning across the bottom quarter. Through summarising content in one’s own words, Cornell notes effectively distil complex ideas into simple and memorable prompts, encouraging purposeful note-taking, critical reflection, and long-term retention of information.

Research suggests this method is particularly effective in recording and recalling step-by-step methods, formulas or processes. However, who’s to say Cornell notes can’t become part of your day-to-day?

Curious how this method could look for you? Refer to the gallery above for some further inspo!

1 Pinterest
2 The Conversation
3 Allison Innes

The Mapping Method

A popular approach loved by STEM students, business professionals and creatives alike – could Mapping be the ultimate notetaking method?

The Mapping Method, also known as ‘Mind Mapping’ or ‘Concept Mapping’, involves visually interpreting the links and relationships between various concepts within a diagrammatical structure. As a non-linear note-taking approach (i.e. not reliant on the order in which information is delivered), the Mapping Method offers plenty of flexibility to include as much (or little!) information as needed while allowing additional notes to be inserted under any topic or subheading regardless of when the information was delivered.

The web-like structures create a visual hierarchy, making mind maps not only engaging but also easy to expand upon, share and be interpreted by others. The list of specific features defining a concept map is relatively loose, allowing you to customise and develop your own conventions.

For example, adding symbols or colour can easily introduce further hierarchy. Prefer to work digitally? Add images, typefaces or diagrams to create additional hierarchy or add extra detail to your notes!

1 Pinterest
2 Behance
3 Permaculture

The Sketchnoting Method

The term ‘sketchnoting’, coined by author Michael Rohde in 2006 before publishing his book ‘The Sketchnote Handbook,’ describes the act of combining traditional notetaking with sketched illustrations to enhance memorability.

While it can be tempting to assume sketchnoting should be left to artists and designers, studies suggest everyone can benefit from incorporating visuals into their note-taking to enhance memorability.

According to William Klem, a professor of neuroscience at Texas A&M University, sketchnoting helps create tangible ‘story chains’, allowing the brain to better recall information and related concepts encapsulated in images. Doodling can help improve information retention by up to 29% regardless of whether or not you consider yourself a practising artist — the power lies in the links your mind creates between ideas and images.

The practice takes inspiration from the Mapping Method in its non-linear approach to creating a visual hierarchy. However, by incorporating symbols, icons, visual metaphors and illustrations, sketchnotes can advance deeper by creating new layers of meaning in highly personalised notes with expressions of creative flair.

1 Pinterest
2 flickr
3 Permaculture

The post Holding Hope for 60 Years appeared first on Another Colour®.

]]> Is remote working more productive? https://anothercolour.com.au/is-remote-working-more-productive/ Tue, 19 Jan 2021 06:45:29 +0000 https://anothercolour.com.au/?p=5442 The post Is remote working more productive? appeared first on Another Colour®.

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19 January 2021

Is remote working more productive?

Insights into the impact of Covid for NSW

As Australia’s Covid cases decrease, the public health order mandating NSW employers to enable workers to work from home during the Covid-19 crisis has been lifted. However, many employers are updating their remote working policy, based on changes implemented in 2020, where a large proportion of the workforce (46% in NSW) was forced to adapt to a remote working model.

What have we learnt from lockdown?

In Australia, many of us already worked at home occasionally, but many more were discouraged from doing so. ‘Productivity loss’ being the main concern for businesses. Covid created a ‘forced experiment’ — a large sample of people working from home, where the benefits and disbenefits of remote working could be observed and easily compared. With a timely NBN rollout Australia-wide, conditions for a mass remote working workforce became possible.

The NSW Innovation and Productivity Council (IPC), conducted a survey of NSW remote workers during the pandemic. Combining this new data with other data sources, we presented their findings in the NSW Remote Working Insights report which revealed the potential remote working has for employees, as well as their employers.

We worked closely with the Council over a series of Zoom workshops, to develop data visualisations and infographics that visually conveyed some important learnings from 2020. Using an iterative approach, we transformed a data-rich document into a visual piece of storytelling.

This report has the broadest audience, of all the reports we have produced to date for the Innovation Economy Research Series. The insights are relevant to small and large employers, in a range of industries across the state, and beyond. Media took the results beyond policymakers to the general public, with The Australian, The Mandarin and news.com.au among the publishers reporting on the reports eye-opening findings.

What are the pros and cons of remote working?

The most obvious benefit of remote working is removing the need for the daily commute. Working from home just two days per week, equates to an additional 3.3 weeks of leave and $860 in travel savings.

IPC’s research found that more than half (53%) of workers felt more productive working from home. Remote workers tend to work slightly longer hours and have added job satisfaction, so the benefits are shared by employers. Sceptics of workers self-reporting productivity will find the report includes references that confirm the validity of these reports. The benefits to an organisation can’t be ignored.

On a more granular level, certain jobs, and certain tasks, are more suited to remote working. Whilst some occupations (such as IT support) may be 100% suited to remote working, other vocations, such as nursing or personal training, may find it difficult or impossible. “Knowledge intensive” industries are most suited whereas “producing” industries can only adapt so far.

“Many NSW remote workers reported that their individual productivity is higher when working remotely. But we also know that teams and businesses are more than the sum of their parts.”

NSW Remote Working Insights

Reflecting upon our own studio’s experience, certain tasks resulted in greater productivity, such as formatting, writing and project planning. But other tasks were more difficult, such as creative collaboration or problem solving. IT issues still persist for memory-hungry tasks, such as developing a presentation where many assets from various sources have to be collected — productivity was limited by internet bandwidth.

What will workplaces look like in the future?

The IPC report includes 10 ways remote working could change NSW, which we enriched with a continuous illustration. Significant changes in our workplace could have lasting effects on our cities. Whilst a decentralised workforce may affect service-related industries in the CBD, regional businesses may expect an increase in trade. Roads and commuters routes will become less trafficked, which has the added benefit of reducing carbon emissions.

Remote working is still a relatively new phenomenon, so some benefits and challenges may be yet to present themselves. Working in your pyjamas is novel for a while, but your mental health may suffer longer term as your human interactions decrease.

Remote working also adds complexity to employment law. Employers are obligated to ensure their employees can carry out their duties in a safe environment, but not all workers can afford a home office, ergonomic office furniture or fast internet speeds. This also poses questions around workplace equality as different employee’s domestic environments may affect their opportunities in the workplace, both positively and negatively.

“A mix of remote and in the office time would let me enjoy the physical social interaction alongside the work benefits of being remote”

Female, 64, Sydney, Professional Services

The report indicates that a “hybrid model” of remote and onsite working is preferred. This allows employers and employees to optimise working arrangements, with two to three days at home being optimal.

With two-thirds of us expecting to work more from home in the future, this is an interesting time for employees and employers to re-define traditional workplaces, which they may never have thought to question pre-Covid. Our workplace locations, our physical desks, our working hours and even what is considered acceptable workplace attire are all up for discussion.

Have you spoken to your employer about the productivity that could be unlocked from remote working? Check out IPC’s report for more insights.

If you would like to discuss how infographics, illustrations and data visualisation can increase your report’s visibility and engagement, please get in touch.

The post Is remote working more productive? appeared first on Another Colour®.

]]> How do I make my PDF accessible? https://anothercolour.com.au/how-do-i-make-my-pdf-accessible/ Thu, 14 Jan 2021 05:18:58 +0000 https://anothercolour.com.au/?p=5670 The post How do I make my PDF accessible? appeared first on Another Colour®.

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14 January 2021

How do I make my PDF accessible?

A 5-step guide to enhance your digital documents with Adobe Acrobat

So you’ve been asked to make a document “accessible” but what does that mean? And why is it important?

Many businesses invest time and money into creating engaging visual communications. However, not all designs are optimised for people with disabilities and even mild vision impairments. Accessible PDFs take the well-known PDF format a step further, allowing them to be read with screen readers or assistive technologies providing universal access.

Why is it important?

While the PDF format is one of the most common file types for reports and forms, it is essentially unreadable for many people with disabilities or vision impairments. Simply put, an untagged PDF is unreadable on assistive devices — it’s like searching a dictionary that is not in alphabetical order.

As businesses update their corporate responsibility guidelines, governments are legislating universal access and even teenagers are embracing the addition of captions to their TikToks.

What’s involved when creating accessible PDFs?

Unfortunately, there is no magic button when it comes to accessibility. Optimising documents is currently a manual process. It takes a significant amount of time and care to implement and comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Adobe Acrobat is the industry-leading software to create PDFs and enable them to be accessible, but you will need the paid-version to make your PDFs. However, anyone can read them using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

You may have heard tagging the text in a PDF is enough to make it accessible. However, there are more considerations for full accessibility including:

  • — Colour contrast
  • — Logical reading order
  • — Alternate text for images and graphics
  • — Bookmarks for longer documents
  • — Document information

Can’t I just use the auto-tag feature?

We can see the temptation to hit auto-tag in Adobe Acrobat and call it a day. However, the messy result means you may spend just as much time (if not more) repairing the document as you would have manually tagging. The problem with auto-tag is that it doesn’t (yet) take into account the context of the document and will incorrectly tag heading levels and reading order. Also, key functions like alternate text for images cannot be automated. This means you will have to make manual additions anyway. Creating a good quality accessible PDF takes some time to correctly set it up.

So what steps do I need to take to create an accessible PDF?

Now that you have a run-down of what accessibility is and why it is important, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you navigate the process of creating an accessible PDF using Adobe Acrobat.

01

01

Design and artwork setup

Like all good design it’s important to consider what fonts and colours to use to make your document attractive and a joyful experience to read. To ensure optimal visibility, foreground and background colour combinations must pass the guidelines for contrast accessibility.

Tip: You can check colour contrast ratios online or install a program to your desktop like Colour Contrast Analyser.

With your design all done and ready to export to PDF, there are a few more actions that will make your life easier when tagging. Elements in a layered graphic will be read individually, so it’s best to flatten composite images onto a single layer and save vectors as high res PNG files. This avoids the creation of many unnecessary tags which create an awful reading experience. Also, ensure all text is live on the page allowing for selection in the following steps. With your PDF prepped and primed, the next step is tagging.

02

02

Tagging

Accessible PDFs are like invisible road maps that give clear instructions to navigate a document. Tags are the road signs to indicate where you are and what is next. Each page must be tagged according to the hierarchy of text, images and background artefacts. Adding alternate text to photos and graphics translates visual information into verbal cues. The captions should be short, simple yet accurate and descriptive.

In Acrobat, select View > Tools and open the Accessibility panel. From here select Reading Order to open up the pop-up box. In the Reading Order pop-up ensure Show Page Content Groups and Structure Types are ticked. Working on each page, click and drag to make a selection and tag the content accordingly ie Heading 1 to Heading 6, Text/Paragraph, Figure etc. When tagging figures, make sure it is selected and right-click to Edit Alternate Text.

Tip: The Reading Order Tool doesn’t support the undo/redo feature and can be a little temperamental, not tagging elements as you would expect. We highly anticipate Adobe’s fix for this! We suggest saving a new version after every few pages so you don’t lose all your hard work, should the program crash. And keep a copy of the original file, just in case.

03

03

Set reading order

Once all elements are tagged it’s time to set the reading order. The reading order is important as it guides the user to read the document in a logical way. Unfortunately, reading order is not automatically set during the tagging process and must be manually re-ordered and checked.

In the same Reading Order pop-up, tick Page Content Order to show the order number of each tagged element. To make edits, click the Show Order Panel button and in the left hand panel drag contents into the most logical order.

Tip: Keep an eye out for any content moving or disappearing from the page as you reorder. Again, saving new versions is recommended.

04

04

Using the Tags panel

The Tags panel (View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags) comes into play for advanced tagging of tables and lists. This is useful for readers as the comprehensive tagging indicates table headers and cell information and items of bulleted or numbered lists.

For tables, the Tags panel allows you to assign each Table Row with either the Table Headers or Table Data Cells. Lists should be tagged to show the start of each List Item, its Label (bullet, number, etc) and List Body containing the text.

Tip: It’s best practice to check that the order of all tags in this panel follows the same sequence as the Reading Order.

05

05

Full accessibility check

You’ve made it to the end and now you can run a full Accessibility Check (Tools > Accessibility > Accessibility Check) to troubleshoot errors that can only be fixed or passed manually. Some manual inputs include:

  • — Document Information: adding the title and author in the Properties
  • — Logical Reading Order and Colour Contrast: manually checked and passed
  • — Tagged Annotations: tag unmarked links by doing a Find and Tag Elements search in the Contents panel
  • — Bookmarks: documents over 21 pages need to have bookmarks that parallel the document structure, or the Accessibility Check will fail

You can right click errors and select Explain to better understand how to resolve any problems.

Once your Accessibility Check passes, you can download the report to vouch for the quality of your PDF. Re-select Accessibility Check and at the top of the pop-up box tick Create Accessibility Report. Choose where you would like to save the report and select Start Checking.

Here are some examples of good quality accessible documents you can use for reference:

If you open the Accessibility panel and go through the tools in the Navigation Pane on the left, you will see the additional work the designer has taken to ensure the PDFs are highly accessible.

It’s never been more important to be inclusive and make your content available to as many users online as possible. We have invested in future-proofing our design practise with accessibility training for all staff. Please get in touch to discuss how we can boost your communications with accessible design.

The post How do I make my PDF accessible? appeared first on Another Colour®.

]]> Online courses for design thinkers https://anothercolour.com.au/online-courses-for-design-thinkers/ Wed, 05 Aug 2020 00:36:14 +0000 https://anothercolour.com.au/?p=5169 The post Online courses for design thinkers appeared first on Another Colour®.

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5 August 2020

Online courses for design thinkers

Courses that won’t bore you stupid

With more time at home during these quieter times, there is certainly peer pressure to self-improve and scrub up on some professional skills. However, it is easy to be hesitant revisiting technical training without a trainer.

Once upon a time, learning Flash (Adobe Animate’s predecessor) was done via a book that came with a CD. The course didn’t do much for tweening but it certainly helped with insomnia.

But self-initiated training has come a long way. Today’s well-designed courses embrace technology to teach, delivering highly interactive learning experiences. No more boring videos of people dressed in appropriate business attire and monotone voices. Now there is a host of engaging activities, explosions of colour, fun pop-quizzes, UX features and even some jokes, to keep you awake, interested, retaining knowledge and actually wanting to learn.

Here’s a few online course recommendations for you to check out…

1. Design Thinking by IBM

Learn how to bring design thinking to every part of your organisation. This course explains what design thinking is, using real-world examples and tips from design leaders.

We have found it useful to explain to clients the value design thinking can bring to their projects. You can even earn a Practitioner Badge. Temporarily, all the IBM courses in this learning portal are free, and that includes some great toolkit resources.

2. Fundamentals of Digital Marketing by Google Digital Garage

Created by Google, The Open University and the Interactive Advertising Bureau this course gives a great overview of various digital marketing channels, including websites, content marketing, online advertising and e-mail marketing.

Useful for those new to online marketing, the course covers the marketing basics, and provides a good foundation for designers. Small business owners looking to take their business online or looking for new marketing approaches will also benefit.

Complete the course at your own pace, and you can earn certification to boast about on your LinkedIn profile. Best of all, it’s free.

3. 3D for Designers by Devon Ko

This course is solidly aimed at designers looking to venture into 3D. Most of us don’t realise that there is a Lite version of 3D Studio Max hidden inside our Creative Cloud subscriptions (it’s inside Adobe AfterEffects btw).

Ko’s genuine exuberance for the subject matter and YouTube-influencer-style delivery makes the course fly by. Her informal approach is deceiving though, as her course has been carefully constructed and you’ll love to work through it.

Our studio completed the course as a team, and every Thursday night we would order take-out and race through a unit or two, before letting loose on the platform and applying our new skills. It was amazing how quickly you can pick this up when it is explained properly.

The course requires a sign up as the course is released one unit per week, so users can post their creations and questions in the forums. You get a library of resources at the end so you can go back and scrub up your skills as required. There is a charge, but it’s worth it.

Highly recommended for those comfortable in Adobe Illustrator wanting to bring a new level to their designs.

Know of any more?

Covid-19 has seen many corporations demonstrating their generosity by providing access to online learning experiences for free or at reduced prices. All levels of government are also working with learning providers, like TAFE and Swinburne, to provide fee-free courses and reduced-fee courses in response to the crisis and skills shortages.

Jump on board and learn at your own pace, maybe a unit or two between episodes of Ozark. It’s not how you remember and it’s actually fun!

We’d be keen to add to this list so please share any other quality courses you’ve taken.

The post Online courses for design thinkers appeared first on Another Colour®.

]]> Branding your professional services https://anothercolour.com.au/branding-your-professional-services/ Mon, 06 Jan 2020 05:33:40 +0000 http://anothercolour.com.au/?p=689 The post Branding your professional services appeared first on Another Colour®.

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6 January 2020

Branding your professional services

Open Bracket launches with impact

Open Bracket is a learning and organisational development consultancy based in London, UK. Another Colour played a pivotal role in supporting us to establish our company identity — looking back, it was a crucial stage in our business formation that has enabled us to bid for bigger projects, charge what we’re worth and start building a strong brand that will serve us for years to come.

Daniel Scott, Consultant Facilitator and Founder, Open Bracket Consulting

We asked Daniel from Open Bracket some questions on his experience of building a company brand — the process, creating a tailored suite of collateral and the value as a business to business brand.

Tell us about the branding process in its early stages. How did you get started?

Early in the process, with a company name in mind, I approached Another Colour about developing a logo. What ensued was a much more thorough and thoughtful (but surprisingly easy and satisfying) process. In one of our early Zoom conversations, I was challenged with a series of unexpected questions… What do you actually do? Who are you hoping to work with? Where are they? How do your clients actually get value from you? What do you do that’s different to your competitors? What do you want to be known for? How do you want your clients to feel when they work with you?

From those questions, did you get a notion of the identity you wanted to build for the company?

Another Colour drew out of me a range of ideas I had around the identity of the company. They really listened and built on my ideas, while always steering me in a better direction based on their demonstrated experience and evidence of what works.

How did you build on these ideas and translate them into the brand?

It was so much more than a logo… As well as the visual elements, Another Colour ended up influencing the final company name and the language we use to describe ourselves and our services. They helped me articulate some key principles (which I’m now developing to become our company values) which are integral to everything we do, internally and externally.

As a business to business company, were there aspects to consider in the branding process? How did this influence the delivery of the visual identity?

Another Colour highlighted to me a wider range of potential needs for a consulting business which I hadn’t thought about. This felt like information I was thirsty for and not a hard sell. They learned about the day-to-day tools I used to win and deliver business, which led to the design of custom-built PowerPoint templates for both digital and print use, Word templates for proposals and correspondence, business cards, an email signature, and web-friendly images and logos that I could use for a variety on online uses. It was a complete suite of professional and fresh looking products that tightly echoed my own mental picture of the company. And along the way I became educated in managing the company’s visual brand. There were also lots of priceless and really practical nuggets of advice throughout the process — such as management software tools, marketing ideas and online training.

Since launching, how has the brand been received?

Using the brand identity products had a greater impact than I could have anticipated. The feedback from my closest clients was that Open Bracket now felt more established and professional. They liked the cleanness and simplicity of the company’s look and feel. Customers (and myself!) started using the company name more. Most importantly, I noticed that having a proper company identity significantly built my own confidence in quoting my customers for what I know our work is worth — I was no longer just another freelancer, but instead a serious and competitive consultancy who clearly projected what they had to offer.

What benefits have you experienced as a result of the company branding?

The value I get from this process is still unfolding, and I’m glad I have a continuing relationship with Another Colour (for the times I need a friendly practical reminder on using the assets supplied, or even to benefit from their branding experience through stories on their website/blog). I feel lucky to have engaged Another Colour when I did, from the beginning, because it has felt like a massive head-start. Fellow consultants (my competitors!) have commented that after one year, my company is where their’s was after 3 years. And I put a lot of that down to my relationship with Another Colour.

If you would like to discuss creating a brand for your professional services, please get in touch.

The post Branding your professional services appeared first on Another Colour®.

]]> Universal design by the curb-cut effect https://anothercolour.com.au/universal-design-by-the-curb-cut-effect/ Wed, 01 Apr 2020 18:42:58 +0000 http://anothercolour.com.au/?p=389 The post Universal design by the curb-cut effect appeared first on Another Colour®.

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2 April 2020

Is remote working more productive?

Insights into the impact of Covid for NSW

As Australia’s Covid cases decrease, the public health order mandating NSW employers to enable workers to work from home during the Covid-19 crisis has been lifted. However, many employers are updating their remote working policy, based on changes implemented in 2020, where a large proportion of the workforce (46% in NSW) was forced to adapt to a remote working model.

What have we learnt from lockdown?

In Australia, many of us already worked at home occasionally, but many more were discouraged from doing so. ‘Productivity loss’ being the main concern for businesses. Covid created a ‘forced experiment’ — a large sample of people working from home, where the benefits and disbenefits of remote working could be observed and easily compared. With a timely NBN rollout Australia-wide, conditions for a mass remote working workforce became possible.

The NSW Innovation and Productivity Council (IPC), conducted a survey of NSW remote workers during the pandemic. Combining this new data with other data sources, we presented their findings in the NSW Remote Working Insights report which revealed the potential remote working has for employees, as well as their employers.

Social media has made captioning videos the industry standard, as 85% of video on Facebook is watched without sound.

Our discrete video-watching is possible thanks to closed captions. Initially introduced to make video content accessible to the hearing impaired but now adopted by social media content creators. These captions not only transcribe speech, but enhance video with quirky remarks, pop-up facts and memeworthy jokes.

With quasi-silent videos becoming the norm, more creative emphasis is being placed on captions. No longer an afterthought to be slapped on in post-production, captions are now being considered at the beginning of a video’s production plan, with a keen focus on how to best integrate them with scripts and visuals.

Accessibility refers to building products and digital content that can be interacted with by a wide range of people, including individuals who have visual, motor, auditory or cognitive disabilities. And accessible design considers a wide range of needs and results in more usable and user-friendly experiences. There are also instances where everyone requires a more accessible design.

Reading the fine print

Have you ever mixed up the shampoo and conditioner? Whether it’s those tiny travel-sized bottles or the sleek high-end products you’ve spent too much on, it seems to happen all the time. When the bottles are identical except for a single tiny word you’re trying to decipher with eyes full of soapy water, it’s easy confuse products and find yourself washing and re-washing your hair.

Half of Australians wear glasses or contacts, and more than 80% of those aged over 45 have a vision disorder.

Reflecting upon our own studio’s experience, certain tasks resulted in greater productivity, such as formatting, writing and project planning. But other tasks were more difficult, such as creative collaboration or problem solving. IT issues still persist for memory-hungry tasks, such as developing a presentation where many assets from various sources have to be collected — productivity was limited by internet bandwidth.

“Many NSW remote workers reported that their individual productivity is higher when working remotely. But we also know that teams and businesses are more than the sum of their parts.”

NSW Remote Working Insights

IPC’s research found that more than half (53%) of workers felt more productive working from home. Remote workers tend to work slightly longer hours and have added job satisfaction, so the benefits are shared by employers. Sceptics of workers self-reporting productivity will find the report includes references that confirm the validity of these reports. The benefits to an organisation can’t be ignored.

On a more granular level, certain jobs, and certain tasks, are more suited to remote working. Whilst some occupations (such as IT support) may be 100% suited to remote working, other vocations, such as nursing or personal training, may find it difficult or impossible. “Knowledge intensive” industries are most suited whereas “producing” industries can only adapt so far.

Driving home and the sun is in your eyes?

Ask Siri to read your messages out loud.

Trying to use your phone with one hand (while using the other to stuff your face with a burger) but your fingers are too stumpy to reach the top of the screen?

The Reachability feature is a game changer.

Need to order a ride home after the Christmas party, but all the buttons appear twice and out of focus?

Just ask Siri to order you an Uber.

A thoughtful and more flexible web

Designers can get a bit tense when web accessibility is brought up, with visions of monochrome, text-only websites coming to mind. Today, the best digital experiences weave together creativity and accessibility, no longer requiring such drastic trade-offs. This is thanks to coding that can be stylised for visual web pages and structured for screen readers.

Screen readers convert text into synthesized speech and empower visually-impaired users to hear and navigate websites with ease and independence. Accustomed users will often speed up the reading rate to over 300 words per minute!

For the 36 million blind people worldwide who may use screen readers, the structure of HTML web pages is crucial as a screen reader dictates content in the order it is coded. Thankfully, the integration of screen readers with intelligent assistants such as Siri offer the future of multi-tasking, where we can all take advantage of well-coded pages.

Salespeople can ask Siri to read out the LinkedIn profiles of prospective clients as they drive to their next meeting. Students with headphones can scroll through Instagram on the bus, as Google reads out their study notes.

It should be the goal of all designers to not only make experiences possible for people with disabilities, but to make them enjoyable.

So we challenge designers — embrace making your website WCAG-AA compliant or the colour scheme of your brochure highly readable. Accessible design shouldn’t be considered as a secondary task. It should be considered a fundamental design principle to create universal and enjoyable products for all.

Visions of the future — time to get on board

As more and more organisations mandate accessibility, it also makes financial sense to embrace the updates early.

It’s estimated that accessibility being retrofitted to make a website conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines is up to 30 times more expensive than the cost of building it in progressively.

As our population ages, visual accessibility becomes more important than ever. The answer? Smart glasses. While it may feel very Blade Runner 2049 to mount a screen in front of your eyes or directly project a camera feed onto your retina, this eye-opening future is nearer than you may realise.

Apple is developing next-gen screen technology to be used in augmented-reality glasses, while Sony has a patent for contact lens computers. Early adoption makes clear a future where AI will be used to identify text and objects for the blind. But it’s easy to extrapolate and conceive how the military sector, gaming industry and eventually, everyone, would benefit from these new technologies.

In this future, will manually clicking around for a search result be viewed as a relic of the past, just as slow and tedious as we now see writing a letter on paper, licking a stamp for the envelope and finding your nearest postbox? Until then, let’s all ensure our physical and digital worlds are accessible and inclusive — for everyone.

If you would like to discuss how infographics, illustrations and data visualisation can increase your report’s visibility and engagement, please get in touch.

The post Universal design by the curb-cut effect appeared first on Another Colour®.

]]> The power of online reviews for small business https://anothercolour.com.au/the-power-of-online-reviews-for-small-business/ Tue, 14 Jan 2020 02:28:36 +0000 http://anothercolour.com.au/?p=3604 The post The power of online reviews for small business appeared first on Another Colour®.

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14 January 2020

How do I make my PDF accessible?

A 5-step guide to enhance your digital documents with Adobe Acrobat

So you’ve been asked to make a document “accessible” but what does that mean? And why is it important?

Many businesses invest time and money into creating engaging visual communications. However, not all designs are optimised for people with disabilities and even mild vision impairments. Accessible PDFs take the well-known PDF format a step further, allowing them to be read with screen readers or assistive technologies providing universal access.

What’s involved when creating accessible PDFs?

Unfortunately, there is no magic button when it comes to accessibility. Optimising documents is currently a manual process. It takes a significant amount of time and care to implement and comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Adobe Acrobat is the industry-leading software to create PDFs and enable them to be accessible, but you will need the paid-version to make your PDFs. However, anyone can read them using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

You may have heard tagging the text in a PDF is enough to make it accessible. However, there are more considerations for full accessibility including:

  • — Colour contrast
  • — Logical reading order
  • — Alternate text for images and graphics
  • — Bookmarks for longer documents
  • — Document information

82% of Australians believe reviews are important for the survival of SMBs

Why is it important?

While the PDF format is one of the most common file types for reports and forms, it is essentially unreadable for many people with disabilities or vision impairments. Simply put, an untagged PDF is unreadable on assistive devices — it’s like searching a dictionary that is not in alphabetical order.

As businesses update their corporate responsibility guidelines, governments are legislating universal access and even teenagers are embracing the addition of captions to their TikToks.

Can’t I just use the auto-tag feature?

We can see the temptation to hit auto-tag in Adobe Acrobat and call it a day. However, the messy result means you may spend just as much time (if not more) repairing the document as you would have manually tagging. The problem with auto-tag is that it doesn’t (yet) take into account the context of the document and will incorrectly tag heading levels and reading order. Also, key functions like alternate text for images cannot be automated. This means you will have to make manual additions anyway. Creating a good quality accessible PDF takes some time to correctly set it up.

So what steps do I need to take to create an accessible PDF?

Now that you have a run-down of what accessibility is and why it is important, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you navigate the process of creating an accessible PDF using Adobe Acrobat.

Consumers value constructive criticism (58%) and are more likely to trust a business that has a mix of negative and positive reviews (48%).

Most businesses proactively respond to negative reviews but some choose to bury their heads in the sand by denying customer’s complaints or choosing to ignore them altogether. Deleting negative reviews is dangerous — criticism can be hard to receive but consumers will not tolerate deception.

Some companies have gone to great lengths to filter out negative reviews online. Meriton Service Apartments have recently been in the media due to management directing staff to filter out potential negative reviews from appearing on TripAdvisor. As a result, the Federal Court has ordered Meriton to pay $3 million for misleading consumers.

Negative reviews are opportunities to improve online reputations if businesses take the time to respond to them and try to provide resolutions. Even a simple acknowledgement and apology can go a long way.

As a consumer reading online reviews, there’s a lot to consider when relying upon online reviews. Consumers will read positive and negative reviews, as well as a business’s replies to influence their decision making. Authenticity is paramount and cynicism abounds, for good reason. Consumers are now, more than ever, on the lookout for fake reviews, or reviews that have been ‘bought’ by a business in exchange for a discount or other reward.

As the world’s largest retailer, Amazon has become a primary target. Fake reviews abound, as Amazon’s suppliers compete for coveted ranking positions on the platform. The podcast Planet Money has an episode The Fake Review Hunter, which tells an interesting story of how the bodybuilding community led the fight against fake reviews on Amazon.

Harnessing the power of online reviews

Here are some tips from True Local to help businesses manage their online reviews and in turn, uphold their online reputations:

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01

Design and artwork setup

Like all good design it’s important to consider what fonts and colours to use to make your document attractive and a joyful experience to read. To ensure optimal visibility, foreground and background colour combinations must pass the guidelines for contrast accessibility.

Tip: You can check colour contrast ratios online or install a program to your desktop like Colour Contrast Analyser.

With your design all done and ready to export to PDF, there are a few more actions that will make your life easier when tagging. Elements in a layered graphic will be read individually, so it’s best to flatten composite images onto a single layer and save vectors as high res PNG files. This avoids the creation of many unnecessary tags which create an awful reading experience. Also, ensure all text is live on the page allowing for selection in the following steps. With your PDF prepped and primed, the next step is tagging.

02

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Tagging

Accessible PDFs are like invisible road maps that give clear instructions to navigate a document. Tags are the road signs to indicate where you are and what is next. Each page must be tagged according to the hierarchy of text, images and background artefacts. Adding alternate text to photos and graphics translates visual information into verbal cues. The captions should be short, simple yet accurate and descriptive.

In Acrobat, select View > Tools and open the Accessibility panel. From here select Reading Order to open up the pop-up box. In the Reading Order pop-up ensure Show Page Content Groups and Structure Types are ticked. Working on each page, click and drag to make a selection and tag the content accordingly ie Heading 1 to Heading 6, Text/Paragraph, Figure etc. When tagging figures, make sure it is selected and right-click to Edit Alternate Text.

Tip: The Reading Order Tool doesn’t support the undo/redo feature and can be a little temperamental, not tagging elements as you would expect. We highly anticipate Adobe’s fix for this! We suggest saving a new version after every few pages so you don’t lose all your hard work, should the program crash. And keep a copy of the original file, just in case.

03

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Set reading order

Once all elements are tagged it’s time to set the reading order. The reading order is important as it guides the user to read the document in a logical way. Unfortunately, reading order is not automatically set during the tagging process and must be manually re-ordered and checked.

In the same Reading Order pop-up, tick Page Content Order to show the order number of each tagged element. To make edits, click the Show Order Panel button and in the left hand panel drag contents into the most logical order.

Tip: Keep an eye out for any content moving or disappearing from the page as you reorder. Again, saving new versions is recommended.

04

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Using the Tags panel

The Tags panel (View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags) comes into play for advanced tagging of tables and lists. This is useful for readers as the comprehensive tagging indicates table headers and cell information and items of bulleted or numbered lists.

For tables, the Tags panel allows you to assign each Table Row with either the Table Headers or Table Data Cells. Lists should be tagged to show the start of each List Item, its Label (bullet, number, etc) and List Body containing the text.

Tip: It’s best practice to check that the order of all tags in this panel follows the same sequence as the Reading Order.

With more awareness about privacy laws than ever, it is vital that businesses implement formal processes to safeguard their online reputation, protect private information of customer reviewers and try to fight fake online reviews. It’s all about gaining consumer’s trust, which will boost the value of brand.

It’s never been more important to be inclusive and make your content available to as many users online as possible. We have invested in future-proofing our design practise with accessibility training for all staff. Please get in touch to discuss how we can boost your communications with accessible design.

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