Matilda Education approached us initially to work on a complete redesign of this series. National English Skills was a front-runner in the National Curriculum movement in Australia back in 2012, so added weight was placed onto this second edition. After conversations with the authors and various stakeholders, we revised that a newer, updated design based on the first editions was preferable.
Research
Working in close contact with the authors, we examined the first edition of the series for a starting point. Encompassing various mediums, examples and histories, the National English Skills content and design was bulky and laden with exercises, extracts from a variety of sources and lesson types. We wanted a clear pathway for the reader's eye to follow.
Concept development
To emphasise the continuity of content over the various exercises and chapters, for the second edition we developed a colour combination system, in which each set of primary, secondary and tertiary colours would rotate based on the year of the book. This allowed us space on the page to work with the eccentricities of each exercise or extract (some that would only appear once or twice throughout the entire series). We also implemented colour tabs and ornaments so reader's could easily navigate to important sections or exercises on the page.
Application
Over the 16 months that took this project from concept to print, it's been a pleasure watching the books get rolled out across schools throughout the country.
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The Outcome
The authors were extremely pleased with the final result of the second edition. Feedback from teachers has also been positive, stating the ease of which they can navigate through the textbooks.
