Danielle Orme, Foundation Degree Contemporary Creative Practice student at Burton and South Derbyshire College has recently worked on a live brief involving the refresh of Sharpe’s Pottery Museum’s visual identity.
As part of the refresh, Danielle has chosen a new colour palette which provides an earthy and natural tone, whilst still relating to the colour associations of pottery and clay with the brick red and sandy brown colours. She has kept the font and kiln icon of the logo but added a rectangle of colour to give it a more contemporary feel, while still being recognisable to existing customers.
The refresh will be rolled out across all areas of the museum, including posters, improved signage, social media and branded gifts. The new look and feel has also been applied across the website, as well as some additional layout and navigational improvements to enhance the customer experience when using the website.
Danielle, who lives in Swadlincote, decided to pitch for the project after being presented with the brief as part of her Contemporary Creative Practice course, specialising in graphic design. She said: “I live in Swadlincote and it feels like an amazing achievement to have my brand refresh selected. It’s rewarding to see all the hard work that I put into the brand refresh come to life and being used for a local client. The fact that I will get to see my artwork every time I walk through the town that I live in will feel weird at first, but great at the same time because I have helped to support the growth of a local museum.”
During the project, Danielle worked remotely alongside web designer, Sarah de Roeck from Nova Design & Marketing to provide feedback as her ideas were embedded across the website. Sarah commented: “Danielle’s refresh of the established Sharpe’s brand is brilliant! Retaining the existing logo style but creating a new colour palette brings the website up to date and will appeal to a wider audience. It has been a pleasure working with a talented young student – even though remotely – and bringing her ideas to life.”
Speaking about the project, Danielle said: “Taking part in this project has given me the opportunity to learn more about the history of my local area. It has helped me to gain experience in working and communicating with a client, and how to work with design requirements to meet the client’s needs. I’ve now got experience of effectively applying visuals across an entire brand and have gained a great live brief experience that I can showcase in my portfolio.”
Maria Picken, Chair of Sharpe’s Pottery Heritage and Arts Trust commented: “It’s great to get a young perspective on the refresh of Sharpe’s Pottery Museum. Danielle is very interested in her local heritage and has communicated that interest in a talented and creative way that will attract a new audience to Sharpe’s. Feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive, and it’s obvious that Danielle has a bright future ahead of her.
Sharpe’s Pottery Museum in Swadlincote has been undergoing some exciting new developments after receiving funding from the Government’s National Lottery Heritage Funds including the Emergency Grants and Culture Recovery Fund. The funding has been introduced to make sure our most loved performing arts, heritage sites, independent cinemas, music venues and museums can weather the impact of coronavirus and come back even stronger.
Not only will the funding give the museum financial support from the impact of the pandemic but it will also allow for new developments that will enhance the visitor experience, including a new layout to improve access and the safety of the buildings and collections. The Museum is working on an exciting events and activities programme that enhances the function of the building and ensures our collection remains accessible for all visitors. The changes to the permanent exhibition begins with an account of the origins of Sharpe’s Pottery and the local ceramics industry, based on the abundance and qualities of the local coal and clay – the origins of ‘The Earth Our Wealth’ story.
The museum, which is set to reopen to the public in June 2021, is also eager to engage with the local community during these unprecedented times. This includes appealing for people to offer their support through its Adopt an Object scheme, which gives individuals or businesses the opportunity to adopt a piece in the museum. Sponsors receive a range of benefits and can also be proud that they are supporting the funding of family activities in the museum, ensuring that Sharpe’s Pottery Museum continues to be an iconic place for everyone.