Food Standards Agency.
The Food Standards Agency is dedicated to helping people make informed choices for healthier eating. Established by Act of Parliament in 2000, the Agency can make public the advice that it gives to Government ministers to ensure that it is seen to be acting openly and independently in looking after the interests of consumers. The Team has worked with Food Standards since 2002 across a wide-ranging portfolio of projects.
That sounds like a year well spent - and public money well invested.
An authoritative, user-friendly Annual Report charting Food Standards' impact on the nation's diet.
Audience.
Am I confident that the Food Standards Agency's work is a good use of public money? I can see that most people might agree that it probably makes sense to eat less sugar, salt and fat. But there's probably also a significant body of opinion that finds spending taxpayer pounds on issues like this a bit difficult to swallow. What I need is a clear idea of the work they've been doing - and how effective it's been...
Challenge.
Annual Reports are not generally seen as campaigning pieces. Accordingly, their design tends to be restrained and businesslike, projecting gravitas rather than excitement. The Food Standards Agency Annual Report had to go beyond this traditional image - without entirely abandoning it.
Insight.
The Food Standards' traffic light rating system has provided consumers with an instantly accessible and easily understood guide to sensible food choices. Extending this system across the Annual Report provided a fresh, clean and visually compelling design that aided navigation and complemented a simple, straightforward copy style that kept people reading and rapidly created a full appreciation of the wide variety of valuable work undertaken by the Agency over the course of a year.
Result.
From ministers and MPs, to consumer groups, the media and the food industry - everyone now has the opportunity to see an authoritative and engaging account of the way the Food Standards Agency is investing public money to improve the nation's health.
Now I'm aware of how much salt I'm eating every day.
An online and offline initiative to reduce salt consumption as part of a more general shift encouraging people to 'Eat Well'.
Audience.
Dave knows that eating well is an important part of staying healthy. Problem is, what exactly is eating 'well'? He's worked out for himself that it probably isn't a great idea to have fish and chips washed down with five pints of lager every night - but what about knowing exactly how much sugar and salt is safe to eat on a day-to-day basis?
Challenge.
When you're trying to influence eating habits, information is the vital ingredient. Nobody can be expected to change their behaviour until they have a clear understanding of what makes a better choice - and why. And of course, it also helps if those better choices can be seen as easy and fun as well.
Insight.
Serve up a booklet with a splash of colour, a dash of advice and plenty of bread-and-butter tips for what constitutes a healthier diet and lifestyle. Place somewhere people will be hungry for information about the food they eat - supermarkets and health stores, for starters.
Result.
Add into the mix a website liberally peppered with information but served up in easily digested portions and seasoned with advice from experts and celebrities alike. The 'Eat Well' campaign is now influencing eating habits nationwide.