Ushaw is a historic estate with stunning chapels, formal gardens, and illustrious museum and library collections. Also a hub for creative businesses, and a charming Bed & Breakfast for overnight stays — all set within 500 acres of idyllic park and farmland in County Durham.
They approached me to develop a Christmas at Ushaw brand which could be used to promote their wide range of seasonal events including, craft fairs, carol concerts, festive afternoon teas and meetings with Santa.
They wanted the brand to have a warm, traditional, festive feel, reflecting the charm of Ushaw’s historic house, chapels, and gardens. The designs also needed to be flexible and work well across print and digital assets.
I started the project by pulling together reference images into mood boards which reflected my initial ideas. Then based on feedback I set to work mocking up the concept.
As they had limited photography my idea involved utilising my illustration skills to create a series of assets which could be used together to promote the various events. The final route combines traditional festive typestyles with Ushaw’s branding to give an easily recognisable identity which is used alongside baubles containing illustrations that depict Ushaw and the various events.
Once approved the final design was then applied across a range of assets including a poster, leaflet, website banner, social media graphics and a roadside banner which could be used to promote the events.
