Johnson Banks revisits British Council language cards

Johnson Banks has redesigned the award-winning series of ‘classroom cards’ it created for the British Council five years ago.

The 43 cards, originally produced as part of a British Council campaign to promote the ‘new Britain’ brand abroad (DW 4 September 1998), will adorn its 126 teaching operations worldwide, which teach English to up to 130 000 students a day.

Johnson Banks principal Michael Johnson says the project represents a ‘fantastic and unusual’ opportunity to revisit and strengthen original work.

‘Unlike in book publishing, where second editions are normal, second editions in graphics are quite rare,’ he adds.

Like their predecessors, the refreshed cards are a mix of ‘fun’ – such as those that feature visual renderings of Cockney rhyming slang (pictured) – and more ‘pedagogically driven’ work, which explains the idiosyncrasies of the English language, says Johnson.

He adds that the Citigate Lloyd Northover-designed identity for the British Council (DW 9 May 2002) appears on all cards.

Johnson Banks won the work six months ago on the strength of its ongoing relationship with the British Council. The classroom cards roll out from this week.