Case study: How we rescued a school prospectus from information overload

When a document fails to connect with its audience, it is rarely a content issue. It is almost always a design issue.

School prospectuses are famous for this. Because they are legally required to include a mountain of administrative data, policies, and directories, they usually end up as intimidating walls of text. The problem is simple: when people see a massive wall of text, their brains turn off. They stop reading, they miss important information, and the organisation's message is lost.

When we took on the total overhaul for Ysgol Ffordd Dyffryn’s 2024–25 Prospectus, our goal was to fix this specific communication barrier. By looking at the booklet through the lens of human psychology and information structure, we turned a dry compliance document into a welcoming, highly readable guide that respects a parent's time. 

Here is exactly how we did it.

1. Streamlining navigation with a table of contents

The problem: The original PowerPoint file had no real structure. If a parent opened it looking for something specific, like term dates or uniform rules, they had to click through random slides hoping to stumble across it. It was frustrating and clunky.

Our solution: We introduced a clean, straightforward table of contents right at the beginning of the prospectus.

Left: The original PowerPoint sequence showing the lack of structure. Right: The new table of contents page from our redesign, showing a clear, numbered breakdown.

The human impact:

• Giving control back to the reader: Parents can now see the entire landscape of the document immediately and jump straight to what they need, skipping whatever they don't.

• Instant credibility: Simply adding a table of contents elevates the booklet from a basic presentation deck to a well-thought-out, professional publication.

  
  

2. Making a warm first impression

The problem: The original document buried the school's personality under flat, continuous paragraphs. Glowing feedback from their Estyn inspection report and the Headteacher's welcome letter were completely swallowed up. Because the original files had no visual anchors or pull-quotes, the school's best achievements were essentially invisible.  

Our solution: We redesigned pages 01 and 02 to give the text room to breathe, establishing a warm, coastal identity inspired by the school's Llandudno location.  

The human impact:

• Using whitespace strategically: We added plenty of breathing room around the text. This prevents the reader from feeling visually overwhelmed the second they open the page.

• Adding intentional pull-quotes: We lifted the standout inspection comments completely out of the main text blocks and placed them in high-contrast callout boxes. Humans naturally scan pages for visual breaks, so a parent's eyes will instantly lock onto powerful phrases like "All learners feel valued, safe and listened to."—even if they are just skimming the page. 

  
  

3. Breaking up the text with "visual chunking"

The problem: The curriculum section used to be a long essay. Eye-tracking data shows that people tend to scan heavy text in an "F" shape: they read the first line, quickly glance down the left margin, and ignore the rest. This meant brilliant details about the school's unique outdoor learning were being completely missed.

Our solution: For page 06, we threw out the long-form essay layout and broke the information into bite-sized pieces. 

The human impact:

• The three-column split: We separated the text into three distinct visual sections: Exciting Opportunities, Learning Outdoors, and Classroom Climate.  

• Easy entry points: By organising the layout this way, we gave parents immediate shortcuts. They can jump directly to the topic they care about most (like coastal learning) without having to dig through paragraphs of text to find it.
  

4. Turning a confusing directory into a spatial map

The problem: Staff and governor lists are usually where document design falls apart. Long vertical lists of names and job titles force you to read linearly line-by-line, turning a simple task like looking up a contact into an exhausting chore.

Our solution: On pages 09 and 10, we got rid of the traditional bulleted lists entirely and designed a clean, modular grid.  

Left: The old list format where names and roles ran down a continuous column. Right: Pages 09 & 10 of our redesigned prospectus, showing the clean, colour-coded layout grid.

The human impact:

• Clear spatial mapping: We grouped separate classes, senior leadership, and the governing body into their own clearly labelled, dedicated blocks.  

• Scannability: By treating text as a visual graphic and using clear typographic hierarchy (LEA - Chair, Teaching Staff), we turned a messy data dump into a clear map. A parent can now spot their child's teacher or a specific governor in less than a few seconds.  

  
  

The big picture: Good design is about empathy

If you present your audience with a wall of text, you are asking them to do the hard work of sorting through it. Eventually, they will just stop reading.

Our work on the Ysgol Ffordd Dyffryn prospectus proves that graphic design isn't about superficial decoration. It's about clarity and accessibility. By organising content into grids, using clean column structures, and respecting negative space, we protected the reader's attention span while ensuring 100% of the school's critical data was actually absorbed.

Is your business losing its audience to messy layouts, dense reports, or unreadable documents? Let’s work together to clean up your information architecture and make your value clear at a single glance. Work with us