Harry Sabbarton Portfolio 2026

Corporate Presentation

The NHS was deploying a brand new range of Automations through a nation-wide programme aimed at saving staff time and money, and even reducing the NHS waiting list. They needed a range of marketing assets to address public perception that automations were going to take jobs. The main way it was addressed was through pitch decks and presentations.

Year

2021 - 2024

Client

NSH Trusts

Service

Stakeholder Confidence

Location

Context | Challenge | Constraints

Context: The NHS was rolling out a new range of automations through a nationwide programme, designed to save staff time, cut costs, and help bring down waiting lists. The rollout needed public and internal buy-in to succeed, and that meant tackling a difficult narrative head-on. Challenge: Automation is a loaded word in healthcare. Staff and the public heard "automation" and thought "job losses," and that perception had to be addressed before the programme could gain any real traction. The solution came through pitch decks and presentations, built to travel nationwide and win over sceptical audiences one trust at a time. My team ran dozens of meetings with NHS trusts, presenting the decks directly to delegates and leadership. The material had to do real work in the room, not just look polished, and it directly led to trusts investing in the programme. Constraints: Three-person team: copywriter, digital marketer, and me on design High volume of content, produced against strict deadlines Heavy pressure, given the scale and visibility of a nationwide rollout Every asset had to reframe a negative public narrative into a positive one Design had to hold up in high-stakes rooms with real decision-makers

My Role

Started as the sole in-house Graphic Designer, responsible for building the brand and marketing output from scratch. After just over a year, I was promoted to Creative Lead, taking ownership of the marketing function. The role shifted from hands-on production to setting direction, prioritising output and overseeing the wider marketing effort for my remaining time on the programme.

Process

I started with structure before style, mapping how each myth paired with its metric so the argument built logically slide to slide. That skeleton became a template system, consistent grid, photography treatment and colour logic, so decks could be assembled fast without looking rushed. Photography needed care. Stock reads fake instantly in healthcare, so I chose images that felt observational, doctors mid task, not smiling at camera, to keep things credible. Typography stayed restrained, big numbers doing the work, body copy short enough to read at a glance in a meeting. Colour doubled as a wayfinding tool. Blue carried the trustworthy content, while the myth people reacted to most, job losses, got its own palette so it stood apart before anyone read a word. Every choice was tested against one question: does this help a non-designer believe this in seconds.

Decisions

Automation was a scary word in the hospital at the time, so the deck couldn't sound corporate or sales-y, it had to feel honest and reassuring. We led with the myths staff and patients were actually worried about, then answered them with real numbers, not spin. That structure came first, before a single visual was designed. Colour did a lot of work here too. NHS blue kept things trustworthy and on-brand, but I brought in the pink for the "replace staff" myth specifically, it needed to stand apart and hit harder than the others. Small decision, but it changes how a room reads the slide before they've even read the words, plus I was still able to use a colour that's been seen around the hospital for added familiarity. Every metric slide follows the same rhythm: the number first, then the human reason behind it. Delegates in these meetings are weighing up investment, so the numbers had to earn their place on the page, not just decorate it. Nothing went in unless it helped someone in that room say yes. The animations directed focus and kept audience attention.

Outcome | Reflection

Outcomes: The decks did exactly what they were built to do. Trust delegates and leaders came away convinced enough to invest, meeting after meeting and the wider buy-in across trusts helped push the programme forward at pace. One presentation went further still, it was strong enough to help secure a grant for the programme, reviewed and awarded by Rishi Sunak when he was Prime Minister, a real validation that the work was landing at every level, from a ward manager in the room to central government. Reflection: Looking back, I'm proud of what this work achieved, it did its job under real pressure and helped move a genuinely difficult narrative in the right direction. If I'm honest with myself, some slides could have been tightened further, I'd normally push for less on a page. But this wasn't a normal corporate audience nervous about their jobs and taking away too much reassurance too early would have worked against us. That's a trade off I'd make again.

Tools + Deliverables

Tools: Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop and Premier Pro. Deliverables: Presentation/ pitch decks Branded/ WCAG compliant website Marketing and exhibition assets