Carers Trust

Carers Trust is a charity 'for, with and about carers'. They work to improve support, services and recognition for anyone who is caring for a family member of friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems. They specifically focus on carers who are unpaid. The information and guidance can be found through their online services as well as through their UK wide network of independent partners. Having such a wide network allows the charity to help those carers receive the help they need locally and in the community that they live in. These services are available for people of all ages, providing tailored support and group activities to those who require the services. 

As this organisation is specific in addressing the needs of carers, the information that is available on their website is extensive in a number of different areas. To research more into how this information is displayed visually, I downloaded the guide, 'Know your Rights: Support for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers in England (PDF, 554KB). 

The information is very clearly displayed, with the simple use of 5 colours separating the information on one page. The information covers a number of topics/questions that a young carer may have through the use of bullet points and small paragraphs. This information is joined by a photograph or illustration on each page. There are also a number of pages that can help the young carers prepare for the assessment that they are being encouraged to take. This is displayed in a checklist type format, making it easy to read through and make notes from. Although the information in this document is very informative, some of the features, such as the assessment checklist, would be more beneficial if it were to be printed. A young carer may not have the facilities to print this document for free and it is therefore not being used to its full potential. On the other hand, notes could be made from this document, which is a tip given from a young carer. The document also provides a 'Notes' section which is also only accessible to use if the 26 page document were to be printed. 

As well as looking at the PDF document, information is also available through a number of different webpages. This information is again, presented through the use of bullet points however lacks the colour and illustration that the document has. This makes the information somewhat boring to read and can result in some of the information being glossed over. This is not something that reflects the importance of the  information content. The simple use of colour and breaking up the information has been shown the improve an individual's response/learning.