Our work for Taxi Regulator

Taxi Regulator's Strategy Statement 2010-2014

26 May 2010

We worked with the Commission for Taxi Regulation to produce their latest Strategy Statement for 2010–2014. This publication outlines the Commission's key Strategic Objectives for the next five years, so our design needed to present these commitments as clearly as possible within this 36 page report.

Each of the key Strategic Objectives are presented in a clear and concise format, and are legible at a glance. We selected a more sophisticated, understated and subdued colour palette which allows the information to be the primary focal point of our design.

It is important that this publication represent every facet of the Small Public Service Vehicle industry (including wheelchair-accessible taxis, hackneys and limousines). Therefore our dynamic cover design incorporates an inclusive selection of photographs edited together to create a large three-dimensional T-motif. This T-shape is also featured as a recurring background pattern throughout the report denoting section breaks between chapters and objectives. The visual style we have established with this Strategy Statement will also form the basis for the related Action Plans that the Commission intends to publish during its five year duration.

SPSV Industry Newsletter

08 December 2009

We have redesigned the Taxi Regulator's industry newsletter. In line with the recommendations of the Goodbody Economic Report, the Commission for Taxi Regulation has committed to improving its communications with the industry. Our new design treatment makes use of a more editorial aesthetic and aims to place more emphasis on the content of each edition. We looked to newspaper design to inform our design decisions about how best to enhance the information.

All parties within the Small Public Service Vehicle (SPSV) industry receive this newsletter, including taxi, hackney and limo drivers, as well as dispatch operators. We renamed the newsletter from "Industry News" to "SPSV Update". This better reflects the emphasis of this publication: which informs and updates that industry on the developments and reforms effecting them.

The Commission is committed to presenting up-to-date information about the overall state of the SPSV industry. Based on sound principles of information design, we created a strong visual treatment for the 'facts and figures' page. This presents a comprehensive range of statistical information about licence numbers, complaints and penalties and in the most rational and legible manner. The first edition was distributed in November.

Commission for Taxi Regulation Annual Report 2008

09 September 2009

This report is the latest addition to the extensive list of publications we have produced for the Commission for Taxi Regulation. With many recent developments in the SPSV industry, this year's Annual Report is a more substantial document with significantly more information than last year. The report's strong typographic design focus and clear, uncluttered design, accommodates this additional information and allows it to be easily read.

The document structure remains the same as in previous years, but we have revised the colours throughout and developed a new cover design which better utilises the colours from the brand identity.

Launch of Taxi Skills Development Programme

11 May 2009

The Commission for Taxi Regulation launched the official testing programme for the Small Public Service Vehicle (SPSV) industry today in Dublin Castle. The Skills Development Programme has been designed to test all current drivers, prospective drivers and dispatch operators on many aspects of the industry such as SPSV requirements, customer service and running a business. Area knowledge is a key skill being tested which will involve recognising major roads, attractions and knowledge of the locality in which the license applies.

This project is the culmination of over twelve months of work. We were asked by Taxi Regulator to be involved in and advise on many facets of the programme, primarily the design and format of the Skills Development Manual, but also the DVD interface and design detailing of the on-screen test. The complimentary DVD is used alongside the manual to portray real scenarios and useful exercises.

The Skills Development Manual acts as part of the curriculum for the Skills Development Programme, as well as a resource document for future reference. It has been written and designed with the reader in mind and the tone of the copy is friendly and concise. We explored many formats and binding devices for the manual at the outset of the project to ensure the final Skills Manual is in a digestible, user-friendly format. The manual and DVD are packaged together in a robust book for durability.

Custom-drawn three-dimensional icons representing the seven modules of the programme are paired with colour-coded side bar devices on each page, easily identifying individual modules. The visual style we developed carries across to the DVD for seamless integration. The navigation throughout the manual has been carefully considered to ensure maximum readability and makes all of the information as clear, unambiguous and informative as possible. Reference boxes highlight key information in each module with relevant icons categorising the content of the message.

 

Effective information design and ease of use of the manual were core objectives of our brief and essential to the success of this project. The Skills Development Manual is the substantial result of a very involved process to meet the needs of the audience, setting new and innovative standards for the taxi industry.

Kathleen Doyle, Commissioner for Taxi Regulation, pictured at the launch of the Skills Development Programme in Dublin Castle today.

Accessible design for customer forms

01 May 2009

We have recently worked with the Commission for Taxi Regulation to redesign their complaints form. This form is used whenever a customer wishes to register a formal complaint to the Commission about any taxi service and is downloaded from the Commission's website. Our work involved examining the design of their existing form and optimising it to make is more accessible and useful for people who are visually impaired.

We liaised with the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind to ensure that the revised layouts meet National Council for the Blind of Ireland guidelines for producing accessible written information. Elements that we considered were the colour contrast of all text and headings; the logical sequence of categories; the inclusion of content to inform people of the level of content; and sufficient allocation of space for answers – which is important for people completing the form in larger type sizes.

While the outcome of this sort of information design project can be misjudged as being very simple-looking, to achieve such clarity of visual expression requires great clarity of thinking and analysis by the designer. The focus here is not on marketing but on ensuring that the message is conveyed in the clearest possible manner.

We have a lot of similar experience in this area and are familiar with the conventions for preparing large print and accessible documents. As part of our service we prepare large print versions of many of the publications that we design for our state clients. These are formatted as Microsoft Word files and are generally available for download from our client's websites. Particular examples are the public consultation and policy documents for the Commission for Taxi Regulation such as their Economic Review, Vehicle Standards and Annual Report. The nature of this work is less about the visible branding of our clients and far more about the inclusive aspects of their branding: ensuring that their messages are available to all of their stake-holders.

More articles about our work for Taxi Regulator

	Economic Review of the Small Public Services Vehicle Industry 13 March 2009
	National Vehicle Standards 13 November 2008
	A busy year to report 25 July 2008
	Taxi Regulator Fare Revision Document 08 April 2008
	Taxi Regulator Action Plan 2008-2009 15 March 2008
	Taxi Regulator Brand Management Toolkit 20 October 2007
	Vehicle Standards Consultation 15 December 2006
	In-cab information system 03 October 2006
	A time for action 08 March 2006
	Taxi Regulator First National Review 30 June 2005
	A driver for taxi regulation 08 January 2005