Terms of Reference (TOR): Graphic Design and Layout Services

Expression of Interest (EOI): Prequalification of Graphic Design Service Providers

Issued by: Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa
Category: Graphic Design and Layout Services — Print and Digital Materials
Geographic Scope: 17+ countries across Africa/Region
Reference Number: TARL DG-2026
Issue Date: 19th August 2026
Submission Deadline: 2nd September 2026

1. Background

Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa is an African-led organisation working to improve foundational literacy and numeracy outcomes for children across Africa. It works with governments, education partners and other stakeholders to support evidence-based approaches that strengthen children's foundational skills and education systems.

TaRL Africa develops and adapts literacy and numeracy teaching and learning materials for different countries, languages and education contexts. These materials require professional design, contextualisation, layout, typesetting and production to ensure they are clear, accessible and appropriate for their intended users.

TaRL Africa seeks to establish a pre-qualified pool of graphic designers and design firms to provide these services on an as-needed basis. Pre-qualified providers may subsequently be invited to submit quotations or proposals for specific assignments. Pre-qualification does not constitute an award of work or guarantee any minimum volume or value of assignments.

2. Scope of Services

Depending on assignment requirements, pre-qualified service providers may provide some or all of the following:

• Contextualisation and adaptation of existing literacy and numeracy manual templates for new country and language contexts.
• Layout and typesetting of manual interiors using Adobe InDesign or an equivalent professional platform.
• Cover design, including concept development and refinement based on client feedback and selection.
• Adaptation of TaRL Africa brand and design guidelines to country-specific content and requirements.
• Preparation of print-ready PDF/X files or other formats specified by the printer.
• Preparation of digital versions where required.
• Illustration, iconography and graphic element development.
• Incorporation of feedback from TaRL Africa and relevant government or education-sector partners through agreed revision rounds.
• Application of accessible and inclusive design principles, including appropriate colour contrast, typography, font sizing and legibility for foundational learners.
• Development or adaptation of age-appropriate, culturally and contextually representative illustration styles.
• Alignment with applicable Ministry of Education or government textbook and instructional-material requirements, including trim size, page dimensions, page count, colour usage and other production specifications.
• Adaptation of designs to low-cost printing requirements, including black-and-white and two-colour production where required.
• Preparation and handover of agreed editable and final production files.
  

Specific deliverables, timelines, revision rounds and technical specifications will be agreed for each assignment.

3. Eligibility and Minimum Requirements

Applicants must:

• Be legally established and operating in their country of residence, or demonstrate strong local or regional presence and understanding of the relevant education and printing context.
• Have at least three years' professional experience in graphic design, publication design, print production or layout.
• Demonstrate proficiency in Adobe InDesign or an equivalent professional layout application.
• Demonstrate experience preparing professional, print-ready files.
• Submit a portfolio containing at least two examples of books, manuals, educational materials or other multi-page publications.
• Demonstrate capacity to meet agreed timelines, including expedited timelines where required.
• Demonstrate experience or capacity in multilingual typesetting, including diacritics and non-Latin scripts where required.
• Be able to work within applicable government, education-sector and printing specifications.
• Confirm that fonts, illustrations, images, icons and other third-party assets used in commissioned work can be legally licensed for the intended use.
• Disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest that may affect delivery of the services.

4. Submission Requirements

Interested applicants should submit:

1. A brief Expression of Interest or cover letter of no more than three pages.
2. Company or individual profile, including years of operation, location, team size and relevant work.
3. Portfolio of relevant previous work, including at least two multi-page publication, manual or educational-material samples.
4. Indicative rate card or pricing structure, including:
   • Per-page layout rate;
   • Cover design rate;
   • Illustration or graphic element rates, where applicable;
   • Daily or hourly rate; and
   • Other relevant production costs.
5. Contact details for two professional references.
6. Description of software and tools used and deliverable file formats.
7. Indicative production capacity, including approximate pages the applicant can design or typeset per week.
8. Confirmation of ability to support multilingual typesetting where required.
   
9. Any other documentation specifically requested under the applicable procurement process.

N.B. The technical and financial proposal covering points 2–9 above should be submitted in one PDF document. Links to previous work may be embedded in the proposal.

TaRL Africa may ask shortlisted applicants to complete a short sample design or layout exercise before any work or assignment begins to assess role and design fit for the specific assignment requirements.

5. Evaluation Criteria

Applicants will be evaluated against:

• Quality and relevance of portfolio, including educational, publication and inclusive design experience 35%
• Local/regional presence and understanding of local education, printing and production context 20%
• Pricing competitiveness 25%
• Capacity to meet required timelines and production volumes 10%
• References, reliability and demonstrated professional experience 10%

          Total 100%

Portfolio assessment will consider layout quality, typography, visual hierarchy, accessibility, cultural and contextual relevance, consistency across multi-page publications, and experience working within government or education-sector requirements. TaRL Africa may undertake additional due diligence or verification as part of the pre-qualification process.

6. Pre-qualification and Subsequent Engagement

Pre-qualified providers may be invited to bid for assignments based on suitability, availability, approach, and price. Pre-qualification does not guarantee work or expenditure. TaRL Africa will use the appropriate procurement method in line with its policies.

7. Intellectual Property and Source Files

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, final design outputs produced and paid for by TaRL Africa will be delivered in the specified formats and may be used, reproduced, adapted, translated and further developed by TaRL Africa.

Where editable source files are required, these may include InDesign files, linked assets and other relevant production files.

Applicants must identify any third-party assets, fonts, templates, illustrations, photographs or other materials subject to separate licensing conditions. Any limitations on TaRL Africa's ability to edit, reproduce, adapt or reuse commissioned materials must be disclosed before an assignment is awarded.

8. Confidentiality and Data Protection

Applicants may receive unpublished curriculum content, educational materials, programme information or other confidential information. Pre-qualified providers must maintain confidentiality and may be required to sign a confidentiality agreement.

TaRL Africa materials and project content must not be published, shared, reproduced or used without prior written approval.

9. Safeguarding and Professional Conduct

Service providers engaged by TaRL Africa must comply with applicable TaRL Africa policies and requirements relating to safeguarding, ethical conduct and accountability. Where an assignment involves the use or creation of images depicting children, providers must comply with applicable requirements for appropriate, respectful and responsible representation.

10. Commercial and Contractual Requirements

Specific commercial and contractual terms will be confirmed for each assignment and may include:

• Agreed deliverables and milestones;
• Delivery timelines;
• Revision rounds;
• Payment schedules;
• Applicable taxes and statutory requirements;
• Ownership and licensing of deliverables;
• Confidentiality; and
• Source-file handover.
  

Applicants should clearly state whether indicative rates are inclusive or exclusive of applicable taxes and other charges.

11. Important Notice

TaRL Africa reserves the right to accept or reject any submission, request clarification or additional information, modify or cancel this EOI process, or decide not to proceed with any applicant without an obligation to award work. Submission of an Expression of Interest does not create a contractual relationship between the applicant and TaRL Africa. Only applicants meeting the applicable pre-qualification requirements will be considered for inclusion in the pre-qualified pool.