Royal Air Force
Encapsulating the ethos, lifestyle and experience of a career in the RAF
Branding | Art Direction | Print
Recruitment is a top priority for the Royal Air Force (RAF). From Communications Officers to Chefs, from Aerospace Battle Managers to Nurses and Dentists, from the RAF Regiment to the RAF Reserves, the RAF needs to fill every branch and trade with applicants with the right skills and attitude.
I designed a suite of printed literature to showcase the RAF lifestyle and talk to potential recruits in language designed to inspire and engage them, while capturing the essence of the RAF story.
Why you’re better off in the RAF, an A3 fold-out guide which summarises the main benefits for choosing a career in the Royal Air Force.
Royal Air Force recruitment campaigns have traditionally focused on the job roles, but, with its target audience changing it needed to engage with potential recruits on an emotional level and to make the RAF brand more human.
The Accelerate brochure deliberately uses magazine devices and techniques to present the ethos, lifestyle, practicalities and real-life experiences of people who serve in the RAF. The dynamic, engaging features deliver information in a chatty and informal tone of voice and include FAQs and ‘Did you know?’ info boxes. Using powerful imagery and editorial-style illustrations, the design communicates the dynamic nature of the RAF lifestyle. Photoshoots were specifically undertaken for the publication, as were studio-based profiles and in-the-field reportage.
Aerospace Battle Managers provide tactical air battle management to a variety of customers, ranging from air defence fighter aircraft to close air support aircraft assisting the Army.
This 8-page fold-out brochure was designed to introduce this unique RAF role and its various specialisms and responsibilities. From Aerospace Battle Managers, Fighter and Weapons Controllers, to Surveillance Specialists. At the heart of the piece was a three-page fold-out visual showing potential recruits where they might fit in as part of active operations – for example, on a ship or at a Forward Operating Base in the desert.
The brochure has been a highly successful piece of recruitment material, so much so that other RAF branches have asked for their own version.
For many years the RAF had used a detailed 44-page careers brochure. But this was expensive to update and increasingly old-fashioned. I developed a contemporary and compelling alternative that would also be cheaper to produce and post: an A2 fold-out guide, that compressed down to A5 size for distribution.
A guide to RAF careers provides an overview of all the careers available and encourages the reader to go online for more detailed information. Information is presented in a structured format according to career groupings encouraging people to explore and keep it for reference.
