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Twenty years ago Michael Linnell was employed by Lifeline as a Training Resource Officer and Lifeline Publications was born. The department didn’t come into existence in its present form until a few years later but it’s as good a starting point as any other and a good excuse for a birthday.

Over the last twenty years our production methods have become more complex. “Smack in the Eye” was produced by drawing the artwork onto large boards which were then photographed and turned into film to print from. “The Ballad of the Two Charlies”, funded by Salford DAT, and “Lickin Shot”, funded by ourselves, which both launched this year, were produced using the combined skills of two illustrators, writers and two graphic designers using the latest computer technology as well as, in the case of “The two Charlies”, a stand-up comedian. However, the one thing that hasn’t changed is the process behind the development of our publications, a process we have used and refined over the last twenty years.

This process is simple. It involves talking and listening to our audience and consulting with them at all stages of production. Many of our publications tell stories, stories of real people’s lives and experiences and our aim is to honestly reflect those expereiences. This is what makes them acceptable and credible to our target audience and is the key to engaging this audience. Without this involvement from the target audience we wouldn’t be able to continue to produce the standard of resources we do today. From “Smack in the Eye” to “The Two Charlies” it is this involvement and this process combined with the skills and hard work of the department’s staff that enable us to produce publications we can be proud of.

Kevin Robinson