NHS Sheffield Children's Hospital

Overview

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust commissioned 7 Degrees Media to design a series of informational brochures for Sapphire Lodge, a specialist in-patient unit. The suite included:

Mutual Expectations Booklet for Young People
Transition Workbook for Young People
Transition Guide for Parents and Carers

Each document needed to be engaging, easy to read, and accessible for its intended audience while meeting NHS brand and accessibility guidelines.

Objectives

The key goals were to:

Create consistency across three separate but related publications.

Communicate important information clearly to young people and parents, supporting them through hospital stays and service transitions.

Design a visually friendly and approachable format that reduced anxiety and encouraged engagement.

Ensure accessibility and compliance with NHS branding, tone, and layout standards.

Our Approach

1. Understanding the Audience

We recognised that the readers ranged from teenagers navigating hospital life to parents dealing with emotionally challenging transitions. The language and design needed to be:

Reassuring and supportive for both audiences.
Age-appropriate, with visual cues to help guide attention.
Friendly but professional to maintain trust in the NHS.

2. Content Structuring

We worked with the supplied copy to:

Break down large blocks of information into short, digestible sections.
Introduce clear headings and subheadings for navigation.
Use bullet points and call-out boxes for key information, such as safety guidance, coping strategies, and useful contacts.

3. Design & Layout in Adobe InDesign

Using InDesign, we:

Applied NHS brand colours with subtle variations to differentiate the three publications while keeping a cohesive visual identity.
Incorporated white space to avoid overwhelming the reader and improve readability.
Selected accessible typefaces for legibility across print and digital formats.
Added visual hierarchy through typography, colour accents, and boxed sections.

4. Accessibility Considerations

Ensured minimum 12pt body text for legibility.
Maintained high contrast between text and background.
Designed with clear reading order for screen readers.

Outcomes

Three fully designed brochures delivered on time and ready for both print and digital distribution.
Positive feedback from the client and healthcare teams, highlighting how approachable and clear the materials felt.
Consistent visual identity across all documents, strengthening the Sapphire Lodge brand within Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
Materials that support patient confidence, guide families through the transition process, and meet NHS accessibility and brand requirements.