Can creative rehabilitation break the cycle of reoffending?

London-based studio Here Design works hard to balance profit and purpose and has always made time for pro bono work to support charities and social causes, according to its senior designer, Eleanor Robertson. So, when the chance to partner with the Design Against Crime Research Lab (DAC) at Central Saint Martins came about in 2021, the studio saw it as a great opportunity to use creativity for good.

Headed up by UAL professor Lorraine Gamman, the DAC provides graphic support on initiatives designed to support effective rehabilitation. Through this relationship, Here Design was introduced to the governor of HMP Isis, Emily Thomas, and the work of her revolutionary charity, Untold, which operates inside the prison walls.

The studio was invited to participate in a DAC × Untold workshop with young offenders, which Robertson described as "inspiring, thought-provoking and, ultimately, motivating". After the success of this first collaboration, Here Design and Untold decided to extend their partnership, with ongoing support from DAC, leading to the rebranding of the charity itself.

The potential for creative rehabilitation

Untold works with creative institutions to provide vocational training for young men in UK prisons, building skills required for entry-level roles with industry partners, including The BRIT School, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and The Young Vic. To put it into perspective, England and Wales have the highest imprisonment rates in Western Europe, with a total prison population of over 85,000.

Even more shockingly, around a third of prisoners are young adults (aged 18–24), while 97% are male. Notably, people from a black or minority ethnic background are nine times more likely to be in prison than other groups, a number that rises further when looking at young black men under the age of 21.

At HMP Isis alone, 75% of the men belong to ethnic minority groups, and these offenders are typically serving longer sentences than their white peers for equivalent crimes.

In Robertson's opinion – and considering these statistics - Untold has the potential to change the creative landscape for the better as well as the young adults, as its model supports "inclusivity and diversity in an industry that sees a chronic lack of representation".

"The evidence also demonstrates that the system – with its emphasis on punishment rather than rehabilitation – isn't benefitting anyone", says Robertson, quoting the fact that around half of all UK prisoners spend more than 22 hours a day in their cell. This surely does not help that less than a fifth are employed six weeks after leaving prison, and after six months, two-thirds are still unemployed.

Unsurprisingly, almost half (42%) of those released from prison are reconvicted of another offence within one year of release. Robertson says: "Untold believes that we can break this cycle and that a brighter future is possible."

An exercise in patience, adaptability and understanding

Despite all the good work that Untold is trying to do, its chief executive, Comfort Ayankoya, felt that its identity failed to demonstrate the potential of creative education in prison. "Crucially, it didn't resonate with the prisoners, limiting the number accessing our programmes and opportunities", says Ayankoya, which is why Untold began working with Here Design.

If the charity's problem was a disconnect with the prisoners, what better way to rectify this than to involve them in the redesign process? Here Design thought exactly that and involved the young offenders enrolled in the training programme in every aspect of the design, from strategy to creation.

"Working in prison presents its own set of unique challenges," says Robertson. "On the most basic level, getting inside is hard work, requiring a lot of form filling and security checks, and there can be a lot of hanging around while kit lists are triple-checked, with all visitors requiring a staff escort."

There was even an outburst of gang violence on one occasion – which is an ongoing challenge at HMP Isis – and the Here Design team were 'locked down' for over an hour. "Thanks to these systems, we never once felt threatened or unsafe, but you have to have patience and accept that time will run at a pace beyond your control", says Robertson.

Getting information on the young men they would be working with in advance was also tricky, so the team wasn't made aware of any serious literacy issues or whether English was their first language. In addition, no details were released about previous experiences of education, whether those enrolled in the programme knew each other, or how they'd behave around new people.

Not only this, but HMP Isis has an average turnover of 80 arrivals and departures each month, so there was no guarantee that Here Design would work with the same group of collaborators throughout the process.

"We had to plan for all eventualities and work flexibly from one week to the next, adapting as we went along."

Preparing as much as possible was key to making the collaboration work for both the young officers and the design team, so Here Design used what information they could to inform the process. For example, Robertson says they were aware that around a third of the young offenders at HMP Isis are dyslexic, neurodiverse or have special educational needs, which is typical in UK prisons, and that almost half have been excluded from school and missed significant parts of their formal education.

As a result, the studio purposely avoided traditional classroom settings and considered that some participants might be self-conscious about reading and writing in a group. "We wanted everyone to feel comfortable, so we tried to make all our teaching and workshop materials as visual as possible, we created informal educational games, and we never put pressure on the young men to put pen to paper, instead offering to act as scribes and record their voices", Robertson explains.

Despite these challenges, she describes the project as "incredibly rewarding" and says the team were reminded that "you don't need a computer to do great design, that great design is born from strong ideas, that strong ideas can be found in the most unlikely places, and that in these places creativity can be powerful and transformative".

Back to the drawing board

Here, Design favoured a less conventional approach to this project, as this didn't fit how they'd work with the young offenders. According to Robertson, there were many questions to consider, such as how to co-design with people who have no formal design training, how to build a brand identity without computers, and how to collaborate without open channels of communication.

Naturally, a level of design education would be needed to carry out the design work effectively, so Here Design kicked things off with eight classes at HMP Isis covering the fundamentals of design, from strategy and logos through to colour theory and basic typography, supported by the DAC.

Since electronic devices aren't allowed in the prison, Here Design had to rely on analogue methods – printed materials, paper, pens, Post-its, piles of magazines, stencils and geometric shapes, glue sticks (but no scissors) – and the group's imagination. For each design decision, the group produced sketches, mood boards and notes, which were returned to the studio between shared sessions.

"Our role was to facilitate the young men, bringing their ideas to life with digital technology – and we worked very hard to do their creativity justice, putting our own preferences to one side", Robertson reveals.

"Under the direction of our collaborators, we refined an incredible twelve 'big ideas' into four creative territories, which became two clearly defined concepts and – after a heated debate – merged to become our final brand."

The design process between Here Design and the young offenders took 18 weeks from start to finish.

"Honest yet hopeful, bold yet relatable"

Untold's new brand strategy – devised by the young offenders – was the result of a group brainstorming session. After pinning down the audience and objectives, the new designers explored the idea of brand personality.

Robertson says: "We used a wide range of idea generation techniques to stimulate lateral thinking and gathered dozens of words on Post-its, which we attempted to group into categories.

"Eventually, we defined five 'key themes' aligning with Untold's values and aspirations: proud, bold, transformative, radical, and optimistic."

Every design choice made after this was evaluated against these pillars, which were visually displayed on mood boards.

Untold's new logo uses speech marks to communicate the importance of giving a voice to those who are routinely silenced. Robertson feels that it reflects the voices of the young men with whom Here Design collaborated while also representing hope for many others.

For the hero brand colour, the group chose yellow (Pantone 107 C) for its warmth and optimism, pairing this with a sans-serif typeface called Söhne Schmal by Klim, which the group felt represented confidence and pride.

Robertson notes that the brand voice "plays a similar balancing act with a tone that is honest yet hopeful, bold yet relatable". Alongside core assets, Here Design also delivered a website to help attract industry partners, influence policymakers, and demonstrate the power of creative education.