TL/DR: When Ducere Foundation’s African Children’s Stories program began outgrowing its manual processes, Elastic Design stepped in to overhaul the publishing pipeline. By designing agile InDesign and Word templates, centralising project management in Asana, and upskilling the team, I transformed a tangled workflow into a scalable production engine – successfully reviewing, refreshing, and re-printing over 60 collections across 24 countries.

There is something truly special about helping children’s voices reach the world. With Ducere Foundation, I am lucky enough to be part of their publishing department with their African Children’s Stories program – ensuring the imagination and heritage of young writers find their way into classrooms across 24 African countries.

These aren’t just cute tales; they are vital pieces of cultural preservation. They accelerate literacy and instil a deep sense of pride in identity. But to be completely honest, when I stepped in, the engine behind these stories was struggling to keep up.

The scale of the challenge

While the program was full of passion, the publishing department was in a bit of a state. With dozens of collections to manage across multiple continents, the old manual processes just couldn’t handle the scale.

Behind the scenes, the workflow was a bit of a tangled mess. It was clear that if we wanted these books to reach the kids who needed them, we needed a total overhaul. We needed to move away from the clunky and toward a system that was as agile as the stories themselves.

Rebuilding the workflow

My priority was to create a system that reflected how I believe production should work: standardisation that doesn’t sacrifice soul. I approached this from three angles:

• Template magic: I built templates using Word (for the Editorial team) and InDesign (for the Production team). This allowed us to keep the unique cultural flavour of every collection while killing off the repetitive, manual tasks that were draining the team’s energy.
• A centralised heart: In publishing departments, communication is everything. I introduced Asana to give us a single source of truth. Suddenly, we could track a book from a first draft in Botswana to a printer in Melbourne without a single email getting lost in the void.
• The human element: I’m a big believer in the shared journey. I didn’t just drop new tools on the desk; I ran workshops and mentoring sessions to ensure everyone felt confident and empowered. It wasn’t just about new software; it was about building a culture of efficiency.

The big picture (by the numbers)

It is great to see the growth that happens when you clear the path for creativity. Over two years, the momentum was incredible:

• 60+ Collections: We carefully reviewed, refreshed, and reprinted over 60 unique story collections.
• 24 Countries: We streamlined production for a program spanning nearly two dozen African nations.
• Sustainable Systems: We created a modernised department that could finally handle its own success.

“Bridget is a born project manager, economic in the use of time, creative in the capture of the meaning of things and empathetic to the culture of each company with whom she works. As the Ducere Foundation designer she has a heart for our children’s life experience, an true eye for their identity and integrates design reflecting the African communities in which we work.”

– Di Fleming AM, Ducere Foundation

More than just a process

This project wasn’t just about operational tweaks – it was about making sure more stories reached more children. Every efficiency we created meant another voice could be heard.

Every template and Asana project was a step toward a sustainable system that serves a much deeper purpose: preserving Africa’s vibrant cultural heritage for the next generation. We didn’t just build a department; we built a bridge for stories to travel across.