Hachette UK launches Changing the Story Design Project

3 October 2024 – Hachette UK has announced the launch of the Changing the Story Design Project. The project is made up of three elements, all of which have the common goal of finding the best future design talent and bringing them to the publishing industry: The Changing the Story Design Festival, the Freelance Designer Database and the Design Education Programme.

The Changing the Story Design Festival took place at Hachette UK’s London office on Thursday 19^th September in partnership with Creative Access – the UK’s leading diversity, equity, and inclusion social enterprise – with a mission to bring together attendees from communities under-represented in publishing. Spearheaded by Charlotte Abrams-Simpson, Art Director at Orion, the aim of hosting the day was to attract new talent that better reflects the world we live in, and to inspire, inform and engage with designers from underrepresented backgrounds. Designers and Art Directors delivered workshops and talks sharing their knowledge and expertise, and the day culminated in a networking event for the twenty-nine attendees and representatives from Design departments across the business.  

Charlotte Abrams-Simpson said: “The idea for the festival came from my own experience in publishing, seeing a complete lack of representation within art departments. Now, more than ever, designers are privileged to answer briefs from a thriving list of authors from different cultures and experiences. I think it makes perfect sense to unify this with an inclusive environment and support new, diverse talent into the industry.” 

Laura Turner-Blake, Director of Access at Creative Access said: “It’s disheartening to see Creative Access data reporting a 10% year-on-year dip in career optimism from 2023 to 2024 among diverse creative career hopefuls. Initiatives like Hachette UK’s Changing the Story Design Project are essential in combatting this trend by providing under-represented talent with training opportunities and inspiration they otherwise may not have had access to. We’re proud to join efforts with publishing partners like Hachette to connect diverse talent to impactful development experiences. The format of the day was well-curated, with a varied mix of presentations and hands-on learning.”

Hachette UK has also created a Freelance Designer Database in order to expand and diversify its database of creatives. This will allow Hachette Design Departments to connect with more freelance designers from a range of backgrounds and disciplines. The existence of the database will be promoted to a range of design-specific media and websites across the UK, encouraging Freelance designers to register their interest. This is a continuation of the Editorial Freelancer project led by Katie Packer and the Hachette UK Managing Editorial teams in 2023.

Mel Four, Creative Director (Mono) at Octopus Books, said: “I’m really excited to use this new database to find freelancers to work on book covers and content, and marketing and publicity materials. The database will provide an easy and accessible way to ensure freelancers work is seen across Hachette and we hope it will mean that we have a wealth of talent to work with who truly represent the breadth of our readers.”

The third element of the project is the Design Education Programme. Originating at Little, Brown in 2009, Designers visit schools and universities across the UK to talk about Design within the Publishing industry. Through the projects already completed at Little, Brown, common feedback from schools and students is that a career in Design in Publishing remains a relatively unknown option. Therefore the Design Education Programme is now being rolled out across Hachette UK. There is a huge amount of talent and expertise in Hachette and the ambition is that every designer across the business will share theirs and contribute to the project, leading structured talks and interactive activities that will engage students at secondary school age.  Hachette UK is partnering directly with schools, with additional support from the African-Caribbean Education Network, and the expanded scheme will begin in January 2025.

Nico Taylor and Hannah Wood Art Directors at Little, Brown, said: “In order to broaden the pool of designers and collaborators for the future, and to really change the story, we need to reach emerging talent earlier on in their education, before they are making choices about their design careers. Design education is becoming more and more underfunded and we should feel a heavy responsibility in the industry to invest in future creatives.”

Madeleine Burrows, Director of Year 7 at partner school East Manchester Academy said: “It’s crucial to understand how important outreach is. To have colleagues and professionals from creative industries demonstrate that there is a future career path for them. It enables them to be able to see the connection between what they’re studying and how it works in the real world.”

Designers working in Hachette UK’s national offices will play a key role in the Design Education Programme.  Bekki Guyatt, Deputy Art Director at John Murray Press, and Isobel Platt, Designer at Octopus, both based at Hachette UK’s Manchester office, said: “Being based in one of Hachette’s regional offices is a privilege, and we are passionate about recruiting locally and taking part in outreach in and around Manchester. Being able to demystify the world of publishing and speak about creative roles within the industry to schools, colleges and universities in the North-West can only be a positive thing, and we hope this will encourage people from different backgrounds to see a place for themselves within the industry. Publishing is traditionally very London-centric, and it is only through a diverse workforce that we can truly make it easy for everyone to discover new worlds through books”

Anna Bond, Managing Director at Octopus Publishing Group and Changing the Story Publishing Lead, said: “Changing the Story is at the core of Hachette UK. Whilst we still have so much more to do to realise our ambitions, creating and funding annual projects such as these within each part of the publishing process – that then leave a legacy that becomes integral to the ways we all work – are further steps towards real and lasting change.”

The link to register for the Hachette UK freelance database can be found here.