Design Aid

Establishing Design Aid

Son of a local artist and visualiser Bruce Allinson moved from a successful career and creative business in 1997 to support the Charity Sector. To this end he establish Design Aid (Graphic Design Aid Ltd) as a registered charity and company limited by guarantee.

Thanks to support from trustees and many other volunteers, Design Aid was a huge success with hundreds or charitable organisations and projects across the UK as well as in the USA and Africa benefiting hugely from the professional graphic design services provided by Bruce and other Design Aid volunteers. In the first couple of years over £750K of services had been donated to good causes. This carried on for over a decade until early 2011 when following a long hard look and review of Design Aid’s resources and position the Trustees made the difficult decision to wind down the organisation.

Design Aid founder Bruce Allinson says “While it is sad that we could not find a sustainable solution for Design Aid to continue as a registered charity, I’m delighted to be able to restart with A simpler and stronger project. Working just as I did in the beginning, with just me using my skills and knowledge to support good causes.” Indeed the Charity status and company status of Design Aid brought with it a lot of additional work in drawing up policies for almost everything as well as administration of committee meetings and returns etc.

Creative Services for Charities and Good Causes Continues

The Design Aid  project brings professional creativity to the Charity Sector and social enterprises, providing suitable content across a range of media.

Design Aid and brand values: You will find the projects strength lies in the ability to assess the Brand Values of an organisation or project and put this into words. From here we are able to select the right media and message that best delivers those brand values.

Working with you we can provide the best graphic design, communications and branding solutions for your project. Design Aid can give you the tools you need to deliver your brand values and promote your organisation to beneficiaries, supporters, funders and volunteers alike.

Design Aid’s aims - are to provide good causes and the Third Sector with a range of professional design and content to communicate across a range of media.

Design Aid’s experience - is working professionally across the whole range of creative disciplines for over 30 years. Working specifically with charitable projects and organisations since 1997. Bruce Allinson and Design Aid has delivered every aspect of graphic design and marketing in the Third Sector and in the process has acquired a very unique insight to the specific requirements of Charitable Organisations and Social Enterprises.

Produce creative solutions that work in the Charity Sector and deliver across a range of media from print to the web and events is what we do.

Design Aid’s approach - is to collaborate with the client/beneficiary at the very beginning of the work, helping to flesh out a brief that can be effective in its use of budgets and delivery of suitable creative solutions that work.

Design Aid’s work - includes a variety of solutions from annual reports to brochures and guide books, websites to exhibitions and events, advertising to branding.
The Design Aid project helps charities re-organise their design, publication and publicity budgets. Design Aid is dedicated to supporting charitable organisations and projects with professional graphic design and DTP services.

Here are a few things that have been said about Design Aid and Bruce Allinson:

• “I was extremely impressed, both by his commitment to conservation, and also the very high standard of his work.”
• “FOC has benefited greatly from Bruce’s support. He designed the FOC “Conservation Code“, a set of common-sense guidelines for visitors travelling to Africa. This guide has proved highly successful in raising awareness and reducing the negative effects of tourism.”
• “Bruce designed “Rhino Review“, the professional and creative style of this newsletter helps maintain the interest and loyalty of members.”
• “The Results of Design Aid services to BTC are almost to numerous to mention e.g. increased subscribers, increased sales of merchandise and of course increased awareness of the Trust and the work that we do.”
• “The services of Design Aid have been invaluable in allowing us to produce professional literature for the Highland Wildlife Park while keeping costs to a minimum.

The Design Aid project can help you with; websites, leaflets or flyers, logos, posters, stationary, annual reports, guide books or brochures, newsletters or magazines, copy-writing, design and print. We have worked with organisations across the country and as far afield as USA and Africa, no matter where you are located in the UK it is worth having a chat to see how we can help. Use the Contact form to email your number and Bruce will call you back.