Berry Head – “400 million years in the making, and still the story continues” – so goes the tagline that features on signage, print, audiovisual presentations and graphics that are all part of the Berry Head On the Edge Project.

Funded by Sea Change, DCMS and the Heritage Lottery, this multi-faceted scheme has led to the creation of a comprehensive suite of new visitor facilities for the Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust’s (TCCT) flagship site.

A common graphic and stylistic language was used throughout the scheme from the point of arrival to the visitor centre exhibition to the site leaflet, guidebook and website. Memorable taglines and key words help ensure that visitors are introduced quickly to the major themes and stories of the site. Rocky textures and shapes reflect the limestone origins of Berry Head and striking colours hint at the limestone flora and the pageantry associated with the Napoleonic forts.

Layered use of media allows visitors to explore stories in greater depth. For younger audiences there are themed spotter sheets, rubbings to collect and a character-led audio trail around the site.

A dedicated AV room in the visitor centre plays a regularly changing programme of films with themes such as geology, history and seabirds. There’s also a general introductory film which projects onto three walls, gradually building a moving ‘scrapbook’ of stories about Berry Head.

One of the more innovative elements of the scheme involves the use of RFID (radio frequency identification) technology. Special ‘story cards’ rigged up with small RFID tags trigger multimedia applications when placed next to touchscreens.

An interactive website www.berryhead.org.uk integrated with social media presences on flickr, twitter, YouTube and facebook, allows users to engage with Berry Head away from the site itself. This includes a introduction to the site’s stories, a species recordingfeature and a printable itinerary called ‘my Berry Head adventure’.

Out and about care has been taken to minimise installations, especially within the Scheduled Ancient Monument. Tasteful zinc etched plaques interpret the original roles of buildings, and the occasional interpretation panel sits neatly on stone cairns.

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Shorne Woods Country Park is one of Kent County Council’s flagship sites. Its position on the North Kent Downs, surrounded by a dense network of roads and situated close to urban centres makes it a very busy and popular destination for local people.

At its heart is an award-winning, eco-friendly visitor centre – a hub for visitor activity and the starting point for numerous themed, waymarked routes. The site has been subject to several archaeological digs that have revealed much about the use of Shorne Woods through the ages.

Graphically we decided to be bold and go for a really vibrant, fun and colourful letterpress style. The lead for the design approach came from a desire to work in harmony with the striking open space of the visitor centre; its bold curves and forms and clever combination of traditional and modern materials. This set the tone both inside and out.

Here’s what Amanda Dunk (Country Parks Area Manager) had to say:

“Since the new exhibition went in people have been generally spending longer in the centre and are actually bothering to read the information and play with the interactives. We have even had two other professional organisations contact us to ask us who did the interpretation for us, as they’ve come to the park with their families and loved it!”

Due to limited wall space, freestanding oak frames were constructed to display themed graphics, each with its own colour scheme and interactive element reflecting one of the major habitats within the Park. Awkwardly-shaped, curved walls were covered with high impact graphic wallpaper, turning the central stairwell into an eye-catching centrepiece within the space. An existing coppiced sweet chestnut stool was re-purposed as a bold welcome feature, being adorned with hanging banners depicting the changing seasons of Shorne.

Outside on the themed walking trails we produced a number of panels and worked with a local sculptor to design a striking wooden piece depicting a hand grasping a flint tool. The scheme also included an audio MP3 trail linked to the various stopping points on the themed trails.

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National Maritime Museum

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Falmouth truly was Britain’s ‘first and last port of call’. For travellers and cargoes, it was quicker to embark or disembark at the flourishing Cornish port than to tack all the way along the English Channel to and from London.

Artefacts were used as the starting point to develop interpretive media that tells the story of how Falmouth grew up to supply these ships and their crews with everything from food to religious instruction. Central to the exhibition is a young sea captain’s diary recording his impressions as he sailed into Falmouth for the first time and a room set showing a shipping agent at work.

“Imagemakers’ ability to immerse themselves in our local stories was key to developing a strong underlying theme for the whole gallery. The result is a strong cohesive story that draws people in through images, sounds and objects. We were very impressed with their process.” Ben Lumby, Exhibitions Manager, National Maritime Museum.

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Interpreting the complex and technical subject of the water treatment process, as part of a comprehensive exhibition about the water cycle, was the challenge for this multi-faceted and interactive exhibition.

A touchscreen introduces ‘Danny the Drip’, a cartoon character that personally challenges visitors to discover games and activities that allow visitors to explore the myriad of stages involved in water treatment. This journey is reinforced by sequential graphic panels, which allow interested user to ‘find out more’, and two innovative mechanical interactive exhibits: a filtration game demonstrating how particles are removed from water and a ‘wobble board’ interpreting how chlorine molecules disinfect water before it’s released into the mains.

“The new exhibition shows just how precious our water is, and encourages us to think about water as a valuable resource to be safeguarded for ourselves and for future generations. Our customers are telling us about how well the exhibition informs and entertains them, enhancing their day out at Carsington Water.” Paula Betteridge, General Manager of Public Access Sites for Severn Trent Water.

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The Energy Bus

The Oxfordshire Energy bus, commissioned by the Northmoor Trust, Oxfordshire County Council and NPower, will visit schools and community events throughout Oxfordshire to promote energy efficiency.

We were commissioned to plan and design exciting exterior graphics and engaging interior displays. For the exterior, our design approach was to make a bold and colourful statement about the bus and energy efficiency. Inside, we produced technical layout drawings to make the best use of a restricted space. The interpretive designs were developed to appeal to a school audience, and simple interactivity was added through the use of audio, lift flaps and magnetic puzzles.

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Randall Bagnall was a Maltster who worked on the Harvington Estate. Living with his family in humble dwellings, they saw life very differently from the great noble families inhabiting the grand Hall itself.

Giving voice to the workers of Harvington in the restored Malt House, and explaining the skilled process of malting, provides an important and entirely different perspective on the day-to-day routines of 18th century British life. The Malt House was very much a ‘working’ building and this ‘rough and ready’ character was celebrated and reflected in the design language and graphics of both on screen and print based interpretive media.

“I found working with Imagemakers both stimulating and enriching. We had a clear vision of how we wanted the Malt House to be interpreted and the staff from Imagemakers assisted us to fulfil that vision with their unique style, bringing their extensive experience into play to enhance our ideas so that the end result was something we can all be proud of.” Sherida Breeden, Hall Manager, Harvington Hall.

The River Roe is an artery of life and power coursing through County Derry and mankind has been harnessing this energy for centuries.

The river fuelled linen mills and Northern Ireland’s first commercial hydro-electric scheme. It’s provided fish for food and is the stuff of legends. Today, it’s important for wildlife conservation and a place for recreation.

These stories are graphically illustrated in an exhibition we created for the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in the Roe Valley Country Park visitor centre. A large frieze of specially commissioned aerial photos of the river from source to sea runs around part of the space, incorporating a stylized representation of the river. Various interpretive devices feature within the frieze, such as evocative words in large text and interactives, including a holographic display which reveals how the river became known as the ‘red river’. A central cluster of ‘rocky boulders’ hold more “hands-on” activities, while audio-visual and sound and light effects add to the immersive experience.

“Working with Imagemakers was a great experience as they gave us an insight into new and exciting ways of interpreting our sites for visitors.”

“We are delighted with our new exhibitions and hope that the quality and interactive elements in our visitor centres will encourage visitors from near and far. Working with Imagemakers was a great experience as they gave us an insight into new and exciting ways of interpreting our sites for visitors.” Ian Braund, Regional Operations Project Manager, Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

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Chichester’s City Walls are the most complete surviving Roman city wall in Britain.

The walls have had a rich and vivid history from the 3rd century AD to the present day, and in many ways are the story of Chichester. However, for decades the Walls had largely been ignored as a heritage asset, with great unrealised potential as one of the city’s best tourism features. With a successful HLF application under its belt, Chichester District Council wished to put the Walls back into the centre of the heritage tourism offer, and to remind the local community of their unique and precious asset.

After some stiff competition, and the most rigorous financial assessment we have been subject to, Imagemakers were appointed to prepare an Interpretation Strategy and Branding Scheme.

We began by investigating the visitor experience and the non-existent identity of the Walls. We found that visitors mostly stumbled upon the City Walls, and that a Walls Walk implemented many years ago relied on ageing and very poor signage. In response we devised a range of design options for a strong and consistent brand identity for the Walls. The preferred option was chosen by the City Walls Partnership to be worked up into a full brand identity and design guidelines.

We then set about planning the interpretation. The personality of the Walls, as embodied by the ‘brand’, was an important starting point. We also worked closely with the District archaeologist in understanding the Walls’ significance, its individual sites and features, and the constraints of working with a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Through this research we became excited about the Walls’ Roman origins and the way were protected with huge catapults known as ‘ballistas’. After the Romans left the Walls became an important defence against Viking raiders and then the dangers of a French invasion, and ultimately the focus for bloody Civil war siege.

In response we developed proposals for a wide range of projects. These start with a choice of 3 trails of varying lengths to explore the Walls, supported by a leaflet, waymakers, orientation signage, interpretive panels and plaques on the ground. We developed proposals for a guidebook, a CGI rich smart phone ‘app’, a Roman Gateway Tromp L’Oiel mural, and pavement embedded gateway markers. Finally, we specified supporting projects including a website, an academic publication, an events programme and formal education outputs.

An invaluable guide to producing interpretation is now available from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The document, ‘Thinking About Interpretation’, is one of a number of guidance documents which can be obtained from HLF as part of the supporting materials for their third Strategic Plan period. It has been produced specifically to support their Learning aim – ‘to help people learn about their own and other people’s heritage’ – and aims to help grant applicants provide information about their heritage and interpret it for people. We were delighted to have been chosen by the HLF to undertake this prestigious contract.

The guide encourages applicants to think about all aspects of the subject, from the meaning of the word to the practical details of implementation. In addition to defining the essentials for good quality interpretation such as providing equal access and addressing audience needs when planning content, subjects covered include working with consultants, training staff and evaluation. Helpful tips on indicative costs for interpretive media are given and an appendix examines the pros, cons and durability of everything from panels to multimedia.

We have also been asked to compile four case studies of a variety of projects that use different interpretive methods to achieve their objectives. These, along with the guidance document, will be available on the HLF website (www.hlf.org.uk) to further help applicants plan interpretation.

Chester

When the manager of a shop located in Chester’s historic Rows was asked whether the setting affected her business, she described how the period interior was a strong selling point.

Visitors entered the shop to look at the historic features and were converted to potential customers; others came in for the merchandise and spent time looking around the building. The recognition that helping people explore Chester’s heritage can deliver real economic benefits led to the city council instigating an ambitious interpretation masterplan. This project is funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency and is part of Chester Renaissance, a revitalisation programme building on Chester’s past with the aim of making it a ‘must-see’ European destination by 2015.

“We are particularly pleased at the external perspective brought by Imagemakers that has helped define what is needed to be must-see”

The masterplan is a framework which sets design parameters for interpreting the public realm of central Chester and has involved working with architects, landscape architects and urban planners to achieve a holistic scheme. The city has a wide range of heritage features, each with different stories which can be interpreted through a range of media. The Rows, for example, are Britain’s earliest and arguably most beautiful shopping arcade, situated at the geographic and economic heart of the city. Our proposals included an interactive sculpture depicting the Rows in medieval times, laser projections, interpretive street theatre and plaques. The design and location of these elements are critical in enticing visitors to further explore the history, shops and restaurants of the Rows.