The Woodland Trust
I have worked on materials for this national charity for many years and for a variety of media – from signage to print and from leaflets to maps. It is testimony to the quality of the work that we were the go-to design partner for different departments across the organisation.
The Welcome Barn - The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Wood
We were trusted with an open brief to overhaul all of the visitor information at one of the Woodland Trust’s flagship sites, located in The National Forest. This included developing and designing new signage and maps as well as large-scale visitor interpretation panels for the Welcome Barn. These now enhance the visitor experience, by introducing them to the local landscape, biodiversity, geology, flora and fauna as well as the history of the site.
We were trusted with an open brief to overhaul all of the visitor information at one of the Woodland Trust’s flagship sites, located in The National Forest. This included developing and designing new signage and maps as well as large-scale visitor interpretation panels for the Welcome Barn. These now enhance the visitor experience, by introducing them to the local landscape, biodiversity, geology, flora and fauna as well as the history of the site.
When I took on this brief, the existing materials were old fashioned, disjointed, and failed to tell a story. I worked with a specialist copywriter who interviewed staff and volunteers to bring the story to life. Together we started by creating a storyboard capturing all key facets, including the habitat, wildlife, history, and geography of the site, as part of one clear narrative. I then developed an illustration style to visually unify all of this content, using the graphic device of tree rings to give a sense of the land use changing over time. I then designed a number of assets, from a visitor leaflet to the new four-metre-wide visitor interpretation panels, which were brought together in the Welcome Barn in one impressive display. This also featured a map, seasonal wildlife highlights, and a membership ask.
The whole project was completed incredibly swiftly, especially considering the breadth and depth of information to gather, process, and represent. In fact, we had just four months from brief to installation, as the site needed to be ready for a visit by HRH Anne, Princess Royal.
‘Thank you so much for all your hard work on this, and your patience and understanding… I’m excited to see it all come together and really pleased with the outcome. Please pass on my thanks for pulling it all together and making it a great experience for our visitors.’
Engagement Officer, Woodland Trust
The Jubilee Trail - The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Wood
We were charged with the task of developing a family-friendly visitor experience to commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. I used the visual device of tree rings to draw a parallel between the ages of the trees and specific periods in the Queen’s reign. These were further enlivened by specific ‘moments in history’, from the release of the first Beatles Album, through the discovery of DNA to the Woodland Trust’s 50th Birthday. This turned a pleasant stroll through the Groves into an engaging encounter with living history.
Visitor information - Heartwood Forest
The client came to us to refresh all the visitor information including maps and behavioural signage at locations across the site. I have a lot of experience working with maps at this scale. I am used to working with a variety of source material to ensure accurate representation, engaging design and easy to read materials. The behavioural signage was an exercise in marrying accessibility with instantly recognisable icons in order to direct visitor behaviour safely across the site.
