Making Our Museum:
Celebrating 50 Years of the National Waterways Museum
National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port
Canal & River Trust
Project Overview
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port, I was commissioned to create the visual identity and exhibition graphics for a major new exhibition telling the story of the museum’s past, present and future.
The exhibition explores how a group of passionate volunteers and waterways enthusiasts transformed a derelict industrial site into one of the UK’s most important waterways heritage destinations. Through archive photographs, personal stories, historic documents and museum artefacts, visitors can discover the people whose dedication preserved an important piece of Britain’s industrial history.
The exhibition will remain in place for approximately two years and forms a key part of the museum’s golden anniversary celebrations.
The exhibition will remain in place for approximately two years and forms a key part of the museum’s golden anniversary celebrations.
the challenge
The exhibition contained a huge volume of information, including archive photography, volunteer stories, historical timelines, restoration projects and collections spanning five decades.
My challenge was to organise this content into a coherent visitor journey that felt engaging rather than overwhelming, while ensuring the information remained accessible to a wide audience.
As many visitors are older adults, readability was a particularly important consideration. Text needed to be easy to read at varying distances, information had to be clearly structured, and visual hierarchy needed to guide visitors naturally through the exhibition space.
The solution
I began by creating a bespoke 50th anniversary identity for the celebrations, featuring an illustrated interpretation of the museum buildings alongside a colour palette that complemented the Canal & River Trust brand while giving the anniversary its own distinctive identity.Â
Working from supplied copy, archive imagery and volunteer contributions, I designed approximately 60 exhibition panels covering:
- The history of the museum’s creation
- The restoration of the site and waterways heritage
- Volunteer stories and personal reflections
- Historic boat restoration and conservation work
- The museum’s role in film and television
- Collections, archives and future plans
The design system combined strong typography, generous spacing, high-contrast colour palettes and carefully considered image placement to ensure content remained accessible throughout the exhibition.
Throughout the project, I worked closely with the museum team to balance historical accuracy, storytelling and visitor experience.
the outcome
The exhibition opened as part of the museum’s 50th anniversary celebrations in June 2026, with long-standing volunteers Mike and Cath Turpin officially cutting the ribbon.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the project was seeing the exhibition filled with visitors and volunteers on launch day. Having spent months working with the stories, photographs and archive material, it was particularly moving to see the people behind those stories exploring the finished exhibition and sharing their memories with visitors.
This project was a reminder that design is often at its most powerful when it helps preserve and share stories that might otherwise be forgotten. The National Waterways Museum exists today because of the dedication of generations of volunteers, and it was a privilege to help tell that story.
