National Trust Process Book Naomi Edmondson
National Trust Process Book Naomi Edmondson
Research
Concept development/ideas
Experimentation
Reflection/analysis
Research trip to National Trust property Winkworth Arboretum
Investigating colour, form, texture, enviornment and indivdual objects which could be used to describe the place.
Leaves collected at Winkworth Arboretum
Quick ideas after site visit
Leaves as souvenirs - leaves pressed into reading book, notebook, work diary etc. Some kind of everyday object.
Trees shade you from: Sunshine Rain Snow Busyness of urban life People walking past Soaks up fumes and pollution
An escape and refuge from noisy lives
Very sensible Granny Shoes
All NT literature talks of peace and quiet when describing their gardens
1 Peace and quiet
Could juxtapose footwear or footprints...
Has old fashioned connotations
2 Walking
What is the National Trust about and commmon to all? Fresh air Cafe Clean
Plants Brief says they don't want it to be about cream teas on the lawn
Trees
Even the logo references trees
Woodland
BUT cake is a major reason why many people go!
Will actually try not to ignore the cake and tea aspect of NT
1 Clean air and quiet Clean air and quiet cutting through the noise and disturbance of everyday life Should think about scenes most common to 25-40 year olds... Regular places they would visit that could be replaced with a National Trust visit.
2 Walking and Granny Shoes Using shoes worn by younger people somehow to illustrate the emphasis on walking at National Trust sites.
Why don’t people visit areas of natural or historic beauty?
Expensive. Costly travel and entry cost Boring. Nothing to do
For old people or young families
Not very welcoming
No access. Hard to get to without a car
How to present the National Trust as not old fashioned?
Passionate about nature and beauty.
Not enough to just show nature
Does it need to be about relationship between people, visitors and nature? More resonance if people can place themselves in the scene Somehow create an immersive quiet experience using natural sounds and headphones?
Would work with animation but how with print?
Could just be visually quiet
Was initially thinking of using bright young colours, but I don't want it to be shouty. Shouty goes against idea of quiet and air and sky.
What does National Trust offer which would interest younger people? Outdoor Activities
Themed days out and itineraries
National Trust Images website
Looking for inspiring images that show some of the activities available at National Trust that might specifically interest 25-40 year olds
The need of quiet, the need of air, the need of exercise... the sight of sky and of things growing, seem human needs common to all. Octavia Hill, co-founder of National Trust.
Using Octavia Hill quote as a way into National Trust ethos
First person perspective to hopefully generate more of a connection with the viewer.
Using trend of instagram shoe selfies to connect to a younger audience.
Could have young shoes stood at interesting National Trust locations and scenes. Could also show the range of activities available which people might not know about, e.g. cycling, surfing.
Shoe selfie scenes Views using activities or locations available at National Trust properties that are appealing to people aged 25-40 : From up a tree Stood on a bridge Bare feet in sand Woodland walk Eating cake, coffee With a dog Cycling On a horse Picnic Camping With fishing net In a kayak or canoe Rock climbing Stood next to a lake
Could have a scene dissected into 3 sections/views so that it represents the sight of sky and also things growing from the Octavia Hill quote.
Shoe selfies collected from friends
Triptych scene prototypes
Experimenting with illustration and print techniques whilst distilling the scene down to its most simple form with a minimal colour palette. I think that without seeing the original photograph it might be quite difficult to distinguish the scene. Also I feel it doesn't communicate a real sense of the outdoors and nature.
Using National Trust site Seven Sisters in Sussex.
A split scene I created in the alps.
My watercolour version looks like a 7 year old painted it. Perhaps not an appropriate medium to use for the illustration! Also this visual language isnt very relevant to the 25-40 year old targetted age range.
I think the previous print aesthetic is much more relevant.
Could also print onto natural surfaces to speak mroe explicitly of nature, e.g. printing on wood.
Or could make wooden typography and then photograph it at National Trust sites...
Octavia Hill's words cut from wood and photographed at a National Trust site. The background scene would then be the fill of the letters.
Or perhaps using my line created so that it's only visible in the shade? Therefore the opposite of light reactive or reflective paints.
Left page- Using the lookout platform at Winkworth Arboretum for a split scene.
Creating sunprints from natural objects Following on from the idea of type being visible in the shade, I used the shadows of plants and leaves to create images with UV sensitive paper.
Original colour of sunprint of a Snowdrop after exposure.
Static leaves
Leaves blowing in the wind
Researching artists who work with nature
Garry Fabian Miller is an artist whose work relates to the landscape and place in which he lives. He also investigates the recording of time and seasonality.
Left - Fern 2 Right - Tulip Tree Below - Distillation
The pictures I make are of something as yet unseen, which may only exist on the paper surface, or subsequently may be found in the world. I am seeking a state of mind which lifts the spirit, gives strength and a moment of clarity. Garry Fabian Miller
I feel that this is what the outdoors provides and talks quite fundamentally of the experience of being in nature and beauty. I think it's similar in a way to the Octavia Hill quote as it speaks of the essence of what it means (to me at least) to be outdoors.
Taking inspiration from Fabian Miller's photographs I used scans of the leaves I collected at Winkworth Arboretum for some small postcard ideas.
Typography experiments
Research trip to National Trust property Nymans
Woodland workshop In Feburary I attended a woodland workshop as a way to learn some useful carving skills for a possible wooden project outcome, to learn more about the woodland and to get inspiration from the outdoors environment.
Fred Deakin workshop A one day group workshop to brainstorm the project and try to collaboratively create an answer to the brief. Areas considered: Target audience - who exactly are they and what are their lives like Why people don't visit National Trust Background - what is National Trust and what does it mean when we talk about nature Tools - what devices do we have available with which to deliver and answer to the brief Key workshop insights: Many people wouldn't want to take part in an activity like cycling or climbing. People are afraid of getting dirty outside. Many people have very little experience of the outdoors that isn't a city park. National Trust provides an opportunity to spend quality uninterrupted time with people. Being outdoors just makes you feel good.
Our minds are not lego sets built for a Bauhaus world. We are not machines; we are animals. Jay Griffiths - Why green is good for you - Guardian website
Barley looks beautiful in the wind Show air with the things it moves, e.g. long grass being moved by the wind
Equally can show a sense of stillness and calm through juxtaposition of blurred movement and still people or objects
How would the emotional experience of these invisible things manifest? All invisible
Space, quiet and air
Souvenirs- heather sprigs, leaves, acorns
Memories and feeling more relaxedall internal
Dappled light is movement and translucency blurring
It makes you feel good.
Better time with people
Coffee and cake after spending time outdoors
Nature and beauty: making everyone feel better since time began. National Trust: it's going to make you feel good.
Space to be with people in a beautiful environment
Share beauty with others
National Trust whole ethos is about sharing beauty
Sharing beautiful experiences
Campaign theme ideas Recipe for happiness - Something beautiful - The wind in your hair - A damn fine cake - Friends
In the outdoors you can do whatever you like - Roll down hills - Jump in puddles - Run everywhere - Splash in the sea - AND you can eat cake and drink coffee
Have your cake and eat it
Feel like a child again
Cut into wood
Wooden board
Actual cake and coffee on the board
Feel like this.
Developing the theme of Space Could connect with existing National Trust beer and wine club.
Can extend letters to create more space
Using the idea of the 3-D space of the letters to describe both the space and concept of space that you inhabit.
Could mask the 3-D shadow from photographs from National Trust?
Using an organic and natural aesthetic to relate the typography to nature.
Left - Using a sunprint as a background
Combing shared space idea with the outdoors? Is it confusing to try and speak of nature AND sharing coffee and cake at National Trust? Should I keep it simple and focus on one? Even though a visit to National Trust relates both to the Octavia Hill quote and a coffee shop visit holistically? Even though a visit to National Trust relates both to the Octavia Hill quote and a coffee shop visit holistically? Would it be bad to add an extra section to Octavia Hill quote?
The need of quiet, the nees of air, the need of exercise... the sight of sky and of things growing seem human needs common to all. (Especially when followed by a mighty fine cup of tea and a wedge of cake).
Fairly terrible. Most people I've spoken to who are 25-40 enjoy being in nature, walking dogs etc. Maybe I don't need to be explcitly persuasive. I could just quietly present the elements that form the experience and that would be enough...? Could very simply present the Octavia Hill quote as it represents the essence of the National Trust experience...
Basic storyboard for a video of Octavia Hill's quote.
I love the way David Hockney captures nature in his Woldgate Woods series of films captured with 9 cameras simulataneously. The camera moves very slowly and smoothly with intense detail in each frame. It really gives a sense of being in that place. It reflects the quiet and contemplative essence of nature.
David Hockney. 'Nov. 7th, Nov. 26th 2010, Woldgate Woods, 11.30am and 9.30am'.
Video prototypes
Testing masking the words and gently fading the image into shot.
Typography needs to be more organic feeling. Torn paper typography experiments and more natural backgrounds
Torn paper is a little bit too messy and obviously references paper in the wobbly edges. I want it to be natural and quiet and not too prescriptive. I created another prototype with a large brush and black ink.
I made a small camera dolly from drawer runners and MDF so that I could film smoothly, in a similar way to Hockney's videos.
I filmed some slow moving, close-up shots in Victoria Park and then experimented with applying the quiet typography in different ways.
Questions for current idea Need to think about strategy - where and how will it give people quiet, air and space in their day? How will people connect with the campaign?
Location strategy Thinking about all of the places I receive messages in my day: - Radio - tweet of the day, thought of the day - Bus adverts - Email newsletters - Facebook - status updates, shared links, messages, adverts - Instagram, twitter, general apps - TV adverts and programmes - Pub beer mats - Supermarket offers and recipe cards - Youtube adverts - Billboards - Tube adverts - Bus stop posters - Posters around university
Using these locations for campaign outcomes: - An app that after 20 minutes of facebook interrupts with a visual or film of nature. - Live daily webcam feed from a different National Trust property. - Website- A Moment of Quiet - Daily tweet- moment of quiet
Next questions! How do I show people nature and National Trust whilst they're doing usual activities rather than having to download an app? What is the emotional connection people will have with videos?
An interruption of quiet- how can it not be intrusive and shouty?
Why would people share the video?
Childhood Memories Thinking about using childhood memories of being outside as the emotional connection of the campaign.
I got a really positive and instant response from people when I asked about what they did outdoors outside as a child. Almost everyone mentioned riding bikes everywhere.
People aged 25-40 are children of the 70s and 80s so I began thinking about things that were popular then. BMXs and spokey dokeys were massive and it was a time well before 24hr TV channels.
The BBC testcard that appeared on TV in the morning before the schedule of programmes began could somehow be transformed into a National Trust theme.
Throwback Thursday (#tbt) The Throwback Thursday tag is the most popular hashtag on instagram of all time. Every Thursday thousands of people post photos of the past, often with a nostalgic or childhood theme. People are already sharing these kind of childhood photos so it would be a really good area to try and tap into with my National Trust campaign. However, my campaign would need its own title and reference back to National Trust. My original idea of There is no better shade than that of a tree could work really well on many levels, one direct reference being that lots of people talked of climbing trees as children and of exploring woodland.
Nostalgic web posts are really popular with lots of pages titled things like ‘You know you’re a child of the 80s when...’ However, I think the most successful for connecting with people are the posts that have a child's insight, e.g. every child thought that Bernard didn't use his watch properly, and I'm not sure adults would have thought the same. I think I need to find those genuine insights from childhood for my campaign to work.
What games did you play as a child? Protectors of the woods Being part of Famous Five Pole vaulting over the stream Being undetectable to strangers Making pizzas with ‘clayola’ which was the type of claggy clay-like mud found only in one corner of the garden. Rescuing tadpoles from being washed into the sea Flying a spaceship Pretending to be wizards with magical fire and ice staffs Cooking apples pies in a tree hollow
There is no better shade than a tree This will be the strapline of my campaign. I feel it communicates the message thus: Nature shades us from the busy-ness and complexity of urban and adult life. It references the trees that we climbed and explored as children. It refers to the many-coloured shades of trees. The literal shade of a tree is always softer and more pleasant than any other shade.
How does the campaign work? Taps into the great memories of playing outdoors as a child, of having fewer responsibilties and reminds adults of how good it feels to be outdoors. The emotional connection inspires people to rediscover nature via National Trust sites and escape the busy stuff of grown-up life.
The campaign is started through promoted posts on social media, similar to the massively popular throwbackthursday hashtag (#tbt). People then share their own childhood outdoor photos using #bettershade. The campaign uses traditional outdoor posters in parallel with digital communications strategy.
Collecting old photos I gathered together old photos both from friends and family and using the detailed stories people had told me about playing outdoors as children, started to experiment with how I would communicate it all. Using the square format of Instagram and Polaroid. I think the image will be most powerful if there isn't a long descriptive text that accompanies it that has to be read to understand the setting. I used the painted typography that I'd created earlier in the project for initial prototypes.
I really tried to use the language of a child without being patronising. My sister told me that she obviously knew all of the important levers and buttons in the spaceship. Whilst an adult might try and assign a more technical name for them, I think children would just refer to them as 'important lever' etc.
I really like the immediacy of writing the description directly onto the image.
I painted all image text with ink on watercolour paper, then scanned and digitally cut out each part.
I felt the informal, hand drawn aesthetic worked well with both the theme of children playing outdoors and also the organic relation to nature.
I created a seris of square format images which would be the format of the initial Instagram posts. I planned to incorporate this format in posters.
National Trust Brand Guidelines Elements
National Trust brand guidelines for posters are very prescriptive and conservative and I feel aren't relevant to a younger audience
Little Moreton Hall At sea in Cheshire, in this creeking, reeling wooden house that feels more like a ship www.nationaltrust.org.uk
I therefore tried to generate a new format and style of poster.
The National Trust is a registered charity no. 205846
Our frame
Frame
The frame is where the National Trust invites people in. The Trust should come across as less of a landowner and more of an enabler. The logotype is informal and welcoming. The place name is prominent, helping to communicate the distinctiveness of each place.
19
Contents
National Trust / Brand standards
Continuing hand painted aesthetic
I painted the National Trust logo to continue the same aesthtic as the typography and photocopied it along with an image so that I could experiment with layouts.
Researching layout and image
I looked at how landscape and the outdoors can be presented in a poster style format and also gathered images of tree shade.
Crisis of confidence with project direction!
The campaign feels too reserved and not exciting.
It's for the D&Ad competition- will stand out amongst hundreds of other ideas?
Time for an eleventh hour change of direction!
New idea Need to not be afraid of inverting the brief or offending people.
Always quite liked the idea of a campaign orientated around Granny Shoes but was worried that it could be seen as offensive to existing National Trust visitors.
Will work on an idea that doesn't avoid talking about the current negative perceptions of National Trust, and that actually addresses the fact that it's seen as a place for older people.
GRANNY SHOES NOT NEEDED
Preconceptions
The Unexpected
Juxtaposition
Thinking about using old fashioned language when describing the preconceptions to reinforce the connection, e.g. don a cap.
Organising combinations Creating diverse combinations of features for a series of images. I wanted to make sure I had a range of 3 key categories that I assigned; Active, Social, and Countryside Environment
I also don't want to only talk of the negative preconceptions, so posters will be displayed in pairs- one poster showing the old fashioned preconceptions, and another showing the unexpected and exciting things you can do at National Trust.
one® 356 M:0 Y:100 K:20 G:119 B:45 00772D
one® 213 M:96 Y:12 K:0 0 G:20 B:100 E61464
one® 3125 M:0 Y:21 K:0
Edited language and images
To keep the language as simple as possible I removed any words I condisidered superfluous. For example, SLIP-ON THESE is reduced to only SLIP-ON. To make the images clearer I masked out the background of the coloured circle and slightly off-set the alignment to mimic screen IPantone wanted Pantoneprinting. 356 7488 to Pantone 7481 C:90 M:0 Y:100 K:20 C:50 M:0 Y:95 K:0 C:88 M:0 Y:89 K:0 screen print the final posters. R:0 G:119 B:45 R:140 G:220 B:80 R:0 G:180 B:60 ®
Hex: 00772D
® ® Pantone 213 Pantone 7488 C:0 M:96 Y:12 K:0 C:50 M:0 Y:95 K:0 R:230 G:20 B:100 R:140 G:220 B:80 Hex: E61464 Hex: 8CDC50
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Hex: 8CDC50
® ® Pantone 021 Pantone 7481 C:0 M:50 Y:100 K:0 C:88 M:0 Y:89 K:0 R:255 G:106 B:11 R:0 G:180 B:60 Hex: FF6A0B Hex: 00B43C
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Hex: 00B43C
® ® Pantone 1788 Pantone 384 C:0 M:85 Y:85 K:0 C:20 M:0 Y:100 K:30 R:255 G:43 B:62 R:138 G:134 B:0 Hex: FF2B3E Hex: 8A8600
Pantone® 384 C:20 M:0 Y:100 K:30 R:138 G:134 B:0 Hex: 8A8600
Pantone® 389 C:20 M:0 Y:100 K:0 R:212 G:255 B:24 Hex: D4FF18
Researching the different Pantone 525 variationsC:50 M:85 Y:0 K:20 of halftone screen R:65 G:5 B:70 ready forHex: 410546 screen printing.
® ® Pantone 227 Pantone 389 C:7 M:100 Y:7 K:21 C:20 M:0 Y:100 K:0 R:135 G:0 B:60 R:212 G:255 B:24 Hex: 87003C Hex: D4FF18
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The colours selected were from National Trust brand guidelines colour palette. ® ® 3125 Pantone Pantone 021 C:88 M:0 Y:21 K:0 C:0 M:50 Y:100 K:0 R:0 G:170 B:180 R:255 G:106 B:11 Hex: 00AAB4 Hex: FF6A0B
® ® 286 Pantone Pantone 1788 C:100 M:75 Y:0 K:0 C:0 M:85 Y:85 K:0 R:25 G:5 B:125 R:255 G:43 B:62 Hex: 19057D Hex: FF2B3E
® ® 2768 Pantone Pantone 227 C:100 M:81 Y:4 K:60 C:7 M:100 Y:7 K:21 R:15 G:0 B:50 R:135 G:0 B:60 Hex: 0F0032 Hex: 87003C
® ® 706 Pantone Pantone 286 C:0 M:20 Y:4 K:0 C:100 M:75 Y:0 K:0
® ® Pantone 317 Pantone 2768 C:20 M:0 Y:10 K:0 C:100 M:81 Y:4 K:60
® ® Pantone 7485 Pantone 425 C:10 M:0 Y:18 K:0 C:18 M:0 Y:0 K:78
® ® 425 Pantone Pantone 525 C:18 M:0 Y:0 K:78 C:50 M:85 Y:0 K:20 R:68 G:70 B:62 R:65 G:5 B:70 Hex: 44463E Hex: 410546
Pantone® 587 C:5 M:0 Y:50 K:0
Pantone® 7541 C:4 M:3 Y:3 K:4
The image series
Posters
Direct mail cards
Reviewing campaign ideas On looking back over both of my campaign ideas - childhood memories and old fashion preconceptions - I felt the original children playing outdoors idea was actually the strongest. I thought it had the best connection with the target audience and has an emotional connection that my new idea lacked. When I asked people for feedback on both of the ideas, almost everyone said they preferred and liked childhood memories. Therefore, I decided to return to my original campaign idea and finish the visuals I had started!
Posters I realised that although I liked the painted leaves I'd created, they were cluttering my poster designs and distracting from the main feature which is the photo.
I re-designed the posters as full bleed images with all of the annotations and National Trust information incorporated. I think its a far more successful format.
The strategy
Campaign uses traditional outdoor posters in parallel with digital communications strategy.