White Pages® News

White Pages® books get a makeover

September 27, 2011

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The days of the White Pages® book being the heaviest on your bookcase are over –the White Pages® has had a stylish makeover.

Why? Because a primary concern people have raised about White Pages® across Australia is that the books are too big and cumbersome.  After extensive consumer testing we are pleased to introduce the new compact format White Pages® which has been reduced by 15% in height and width, making it lighter and easier to pick up and hold. 

And the best bit is that it is as comprehensive as ever, so you haven’t lost a thing!

The other great news is that we have changed the typeface in the books to help ensure they are still readable at the compact size. This was no mean feat!  To find the best result we tested four different typefaces with consumers and advertisers and Bell Centennial was the winner.  To further improve readability we have for the first time inserted spaces in the address line between the street number, name and suburb, and have restyled the page number at the top of each page you can more quickly find the page you need.

Of course, prior to making these changes and knowing that people care a lot about the White Pages®,  the White Pages® team consulted with a range of community stakeholders, including Council on the Ageing (COTA), the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) and Vision Australia (VA) about our planned improvements.

One of the key suggestions from these discussions was to continue our existing program of providing a free magnifier to anyone who needed further support.  Those with vision difficulties can order a magnifying aid by calling Sensis on 1800 625 944.

Also stemming from our discussions, the White Pages® Accessibility Guide has been produced in conjunction with the team at Vision Australia and explains how Australians with a vision impairment can access White Pages® content.  The Guide is available in large font, Braille, as an audio CD or MP3 file and in electronic text.  More information is available here Accessibility Guide.

Vision Australia chief executive Gerard Menses said: “It’s pleasing that Sensis has considered the needs of people who are vision impaired as part of its plans to introduce the compact-sized print directory. It’s important that the content in the White Pages® remains accessible to all Australians.”

And Council on the Ageing chief executive Ian Yates said: “Many older people still prefer to use more traditional means to search for information and the changes to the format and the typeface in the compact-sized directories have made them even more user-friendly.”

So whether you’re a long time White Pages® user, or just a fan of small but perfectly formed objects, the newly restyled White Pages® books are ready for their close up – make sure you check yours out!

The new compact books are available this year in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane, and coming to Melbourne in 2012.