Canal & River Trust
The Canal & River Trust is a charity responsible for maintaining over 2,000 miles of historic waterways across England and Wales.
Their work includes preserving canal heritage, promoting waterway-based tourism, and engaging communities through cultural and educational initiatives.
Details
March 2023
The challenge
The National Waterways Museum (NWM) needed a professionally designed 12-page event program brochure along with supporting A4/A3 posters to promote its 2023 event program. These materials had to work within Canal & River Trust’s extensive brand guidelines while ensuring that event details were clear, engaging, and visually appealing.
A key design challenge was integrating the Canal & River Trust’s brand pattern without making the layout feel overly busy or distracting. Given the dense amount of information that needed to be communicated, it was crucial to strike the right balance between visual appeal and readability.
Additionally, the materials needed to be flexible enough for reuse across multiple events while maintaining a cohesive look.
Another challenge was aligning the designs with the strict branding rules set by Canal & River Trust. Working within these constraints required careful adaptation to ensure the event materials met both the museum’s needs and the broader organisational guidelines.
the solution
To create a design that balanced clarity and brand consistency, I developed two distinct design elements:
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A ‘tab’ background to emphasise event names and dates, making them easy to find at a glance.
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A slimmer brand pattern strategically used to highlight subheadings and important details, subtly evoking the shape of a canal boat without overwhelming the content.
Through several design iterations and feedback from Canal & River Trust’s Brand Central team, I refined the layout while ensuring it remained brand-compliant. This iterative process allowed me to understand the flexibility of the brand guidelines and how to best apply them to promotional materials.
To support future marketing efforts, I also created flexible templates that could be easily updated for new events, ensuring a consistent yet adaptable design approach across different campaigns.
The outcome
The final event program and posters provided a visually engaging and brand-aligned solution that met the National Waterways Museum’s needs while adhering to Canal & River Trust’s branding requirements.
Key outcomes included:
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A flexible design system that allowed for easy updates and reuse across multiple events.
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Improved clarity and readability, ensuring that visitors could quickly find relevant event information.
- A refined approach to brand application that has since been used in other CRT projects, including leaflets, banners, and additional promotional materials.
Additionally, this collaboration helped establish a ‘visual handwriting’ for both the National Waterways Museum and Anderton Boat Lift, giving each site its own distinct personality while still aligning with the wider Canal & River Trust brand identity.
By managing tight deadlines, maintaining open communication, and carefully balancing brand consistency with practical design needs, I successfully delivered high-quality, reusable marketing materials that continue to support the museum’s promotional efforts.
spring/summer 2023 programme
