Working with the Third Sector

Jan 04, 2011

What Boulder Design can offer your organisation

• Design and development based on an understanding of your context
• Design that is led by the vision of your organisation, and is tailored to let your work have greater impact or improve the efficiency of your operations
• Comfort in the fact that you are working with an ethical supplier that operates fairly and pays attention to social and green issues
• A lasting working relationship
• High quality output on-time and on-budget
• Accessible and standards-compliant development techniques

What do you want from us?

• A website that reflects your values and your organisation’s ethos
• Design or branding that targets your service’s end users, stakeholders or practitioners in the most effective way
• An outward-facing image that makes you look reliable, respectable and professional

One of the main drivers of our work is a belief that concentrating effort on your outward facing image will improve the results of your work. Having a consistent identity, high-quality marketing materials and business literature will help your end users build a relationship with you; will improve fundraising; will engage stakeholders and encourage staff or volunteers.

A professional – or more specifically a consistent image won’t scare anyone off if done properly. There is no excuse for “making do”! It really won’t cost you the earth to spend time on it, and any expense will be returned in both tangible and intangible ways.

Boulder Design’s interest in the third sector became fully fledged after I volunteered as a teacher in Nepal and then northern India. On return I started working closely with MondoChallenge (the company who I volunteered with). This involvement built an understanding of the issues facing international development. Their sister charity MondoChallenge Foundation gave me experience with fundraising, legal and financial issues that are common across the third sector.

Since then I have continued to work closely with a number of small charities, and keep up to date with developments in the sector.

Our credentials

Ross Hume has worked with organisations across a range of social contexts, and particularly in the field of international development. Some of Boulder Design’s recent projects include:

• MondoChallenge website - mondochallenge.co.uk (the site is developing to include resource areas, forums etc to create a social network)
• MondoChallenge adverts (including adverts in The Independent, Gap Year Guidebook) and posters/flyers
• MondoChallenge Foundation website mondochallengefoundation.org
• Village Aid website - villageaid.org
• Village Aid brand, marketing materials, company literature
• Village Aid fundraising (Three Peaks, Triathlon) and volunteering (carrying boxes to christmas market!)
• Peter Stone website - pstoneconsulting.co.uk
• Voice4Change England reports for events at House of Lords, flier for BME Third Sector National Conference, website refresh (coming soon)
• Africa Matters logo and microsite - africamatters.org.uk
• Growing Global – a new project for global awareness education in schools through theatre: brand, website and flyer - growingglobal.org

Outside of the design world we have also worked in research and consultancy with a whole range of different organisations, largely in the public sector:

• Government Office North East - Rural Strategy review
• Alnwick & Amble Learning Partnership
• LSC North East EL@ND project
• LSC North East Review of provision for the unemployed
• Newcastle City Council – Factors Affecting Attainment literature review
• Durham Communities of Learning

For a full range of examples of our work, check out the Portfolio section.