Get to know the graphic designers for the REAL Toolkit - Shona and Scott from Swandco. design.

Tell us a little about yourselves (as individuals)

We are Shona and Scott, husband and wife team who run our own creative agency together SW&CO design. Outside of work, we both love spending time with our family and friends and heading to the hills on an adventure whenever we can.

Tell us a bit about the work you do

We believe that ideas are powerful and a strong core idea can be the driving force for any organisation. Together with our clients we make ideas happen through creating brand identities, websites, photography, illustration, film and social media to help them communicate effectively to their audiences.

How did you get involved in designing the REAL toolkit?

Staf reached out to us to discuss the possibility of working together. We were delighted as we loved everything that The REAL Toolkit was aiming to achieve and we wanted to be part of the journey in bringing it to life. We have been working with Staf & The REAL Toolkit for over a year on exploring what the Real Toolkit would be as a brand, bringing it to life through it’s brand identity and launching the resource through the creation of The Real Toolkit website and communication tools.

How have you found co-producing the REAL toolkit with young people and the workforce?

We have loved co-producing The Real Toolkit with Young People and The Workforce, the knowledge and insights from them has been invaluable in bringing The REAL Toolkit design elements to life. When we started working with Staf, the resource was in its initial stages, and we worked with Staf and The Advisory Group to establish every component of The REAL Toolkit including: the form it would take, identifying user groups (Young People & The Workforce) and how they would use it. As the project developed, we also worked with the group on the brand identity as well as specific design elements such as theme icons. Throughout the design process, we would gather feedback from the group and work with them to update design elements with the goal of creating designs that will connect with Young People and The Workforce.

What do you hope the REAL toolkit can achieve?

We hope that The REAL Toolkit has a positive impact on the people who use it, and becomes the go to tool when looking for actionable information around leaving care.