Tandem

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland

With over 3 million documents, PRONI is the only archive in the British Isles to hold such a diverse collection of official and private documents. In 2011, PRONI moved into a new purpose-built home in the Titanic Quarter of Belfast. A Century of Change, Conflict and Transformation was launched to mark this event. As well as telling the story of Northern Ireland through the archive’s documents, the exhibition aimed to encourage people to think about both the purpose and future of archives.

Presented with limited room, no existing exhibition infrastructure and a modest budget, we chose the Mila wall system as the best possible solution for the space: it allowed us to divide the exhibition in a way that facilitated an optimal and logical visitor flow and maximised the available surface area for reproducing documents and images from the archive. Engagement with curatorial staff and subject specialists was critical to the success of this process. Their expertise and anecdotes about various collections added an additional dimension to PRONI’s collection and we were able to capture their information and enthusiasm in the narrative.

As the opening of the exhibition also coincided with the 70th anniversary of the Belfast Blitz, we designed an ‘Anderson’ air-raid shelter from original plans held by PRONI. Located in the centre of the exhibition space, the shelter provided both a focal point and a resting point for visitors. Images of the Blitz were projected onto the floor while audio reminiscence played within the space. The shelter also made tangible for visitors the connection between the documents in PRONI and the lives of people in the past.

Additional content and focus was supplied through the use of audio-visual and interactive components throughout the space. As in the design of the exhibition, we were keen that the touchscreens would give visitors a sense of the discovery that can take place in an archive. While the touchscreens were single-touch, they were designed in such a way as to encourage group interaction, giving visitors the opportunity for interpersonal learning.

Scope

Content Mapping &
Conceptual Framework

Scripting, Copywriting
& Proofing

Image Research,
Cataloguing & Selection

Touch Screen Design
& Programming (AV Content)

Spatial Design
& Visitor Flow

Interpretive Design

Object Selection, Display
Arrangement & Captioning

Research and Writing
of Educational Material
for use on site

Dunluce Castle

People connect primarily with stories of other people, so we introduce Dunluce via its larger-than-life 17th-century inhabitants, as a continuous backdrop against which these people played out a drama of politics, upheaval and change. Interpretation across the site provides opportunities for ‘hands-on’, discovery learning, for children and adults alike to develop a personal connection to Dunluce and share in the site’s ongoing discovery.

The existing shop and reception area is now the welcoming ‘Dunluce Room’, introducing visitors to Dunluce’s broad themes and chronology. A 6-minute animated CGI movie sets the scene for the specific themes and characters visitors will encounter, while large, dramatically-angled panels create a ‘wow’ factor, encouraging them to spend time in the space. We produced a new scale model of the castle while reproduction dress-up clothing, discovery drawers, ‘3 Men’s Morris’ game and sliding tile puzzle provide further opportunities for interaction.

The existing exhibition area, now the ‘Archaeology Room’, was recreated as a ‘field office’ and challenges the view that archaeology is merely academic excavation. First-hand experiences of dig volunteers inform the narrative, while discovery drawers and an archaeological dig interactive give visitors a hands-on experience. A 5-minute film features the lead archaeologist walking around the site talking about his favourite discoveries and demonstrates how visitors can ‘read’ the landscape for themselves. Another scale model put the castle in the context of its broader landscape and recreated the town based on the most recent archaeological findings on the site.

We interpreted the site through audio, visual, and tactile means to enhance engagement across a range of learning styles and visitor types (from large coach tours to family groups). Cast bronze panels combine with a printed guide and Opus Touch AV handset, featuring guided tours with CGI animations where visitors view animations of the castle’s structures rebuilt before their eyes, to create an engaging and immersive visitor experience. We developed an adults’ tour and a children’s tour designed to run simultaneously, allowing families to explore an area together but to engage with it on different levels. A ‘hidden treasure’ element of the children’s tour encourages younger visitors to explore the site to find resin-cast replicas of artefacts discovered at Dunluce.

Scope

Content Mapping &
Conceptual Framework

Concept Planning &
Interpretive Theme Strategy

Project Management

Research, Scripting, &
Copywriting including
Educational Material

Image Research
& Cataloguing

AV Content & Touch
Screen Programming
including movies & CGI

Spatial Design &
Visitor Flow

Interpretive Design

Artefact Selection,
Mounting &
Display Cases

Stakeholder Reporting &
Steering Group Presentations

Northern Ireland Community Archive Online Trails

The Northern Ireland Community Archive (http://www.niarchive.org) is a mechanism to collect, preserve and disseminate the wealth of stories and materials which relate to localities round Northern Ireland. It has the potential to help visitors to uncover our stories, connect with local people and places and follow specific interests within a broader framework.

This project required us to bring our interpretive design expertise to a multi-disciplinary team in order to deliver a high-end and versatile web-based product within a relatively short space of time. We brought together digital assets from the archive to curate three distinct and discrete trails to help a range of users, particularly knowledgeable visitors and engaged locals, to explore local areas and their tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

Working in close consultation with the client and the developers at Front to profile the likely needs and interests of the anticipated end-users, we outlined an interpretive strategy for the overall project that explained the product and related the three tours to each other within the broader context. We helped develop the tone and voice of each trail, and refined the content a number of times to create a compelling and engaging narrative that encourages users to read on and delve deeper.

Scope

Project Initiation
& Scoping

Stakeholder Interviews
& Workshops

Content Workshops

Social Media
Consultation

Design Consultation
for Home Page

Scoping Mechanisms for
Future Trail Additions

Interpretive Content
Strategy for 3 Pilot NICA
Web-Based Tour Products

Tall Tales & Deadly Drawings: Stories for Boys & Girls at the National Library

Following on the success of Discover Lifelines, Tandem was again contracted by the Library to design and deliver a temporary exhibition showcasing Irish children’s literature and illustration in the Library’s foyer. Though familiar with this space, we wanted to explore other configurations that would allow us to create an exhibition with a dramatically different look and feel.

Titled Tall Tales and Deadly Drawings, the exhibition's subject matter allowed us to take a more playful approach to its design. As we were also responsible for researching and writing the exhibition, our interpretive process was a holistic one that allowed the graphic style and storyline to evolve in tandem.

An enchanted tree explores the recurring theme of ‘the forest’ in children’s literature, while a giant bookshelf features a child-only space called ‘The Reading Hole’ in which we placed a bean bag and a series of books.

As well as fostering a love of reading, one of the exhibition’s key objectives was to celebrate the act of storytelling and writing. To this end, we built a freestanding ‘Inspiration Station’ at which visitors (of all ages!) could take inspiration from quotes by Irish children’s writers and write a story of their own with the help of an inspirational ‘story cubes’ game. Visitors could then share their stories in the ‘Open Book’ which retained outreach elements from the Discover Lifelines exhibition.

We extended the exhibition’s playfulness and theme of discovery to other areas of the Library through the occasional placement of ‘deadly drawings’ from Irish children’s books throughout the Library’s public spaces including the toilets and coffee shop. This promoted the exhibition to regular Library users and encouraged Tall Tales visitors to linger and explore other parts of the building.

Scope

Content Mapping,
Research & Scripting

Image Research,
Cataloguing & Selection

Interpretive Design &
Consultation

Reporting to Stakeholders
& Presenting to Project
Steering Group

No.5 Vicars' Hill

No. 5 Vicars’ Hill is an important 18th Century Grade A listed building originally constructed as the Registry for the Church of Ireland in Armagh. Situated in close proximity to the Cathedral, the Registry underwent an extensive programme of restoration to function as an interpretive centre, as an introduction for visitors to the adjacent Armagh Public Library and St Patrick's Cathedral & Crypt.

No. 5 presented many challenges through its layout and the number of narrative threads to be told, jumping from 18th & 19th Century Armagh, to ancient Roman Coins, Medieval Bells and Bronze Age Swords. The exhibition core stories included Armagh and its Christian Heritage, linking specifically with the NITB’s St Patrick’s Christian Heritage signature project, the story of No. 5 and its Registry role, Archbishop Robinson and his wider cultural agenda, and the collection of artefacts, including its links to the Library.

We designed two bespoke display case units that establish the artefacts as the real stars of the show, and also house touch screens, rubbings and activity sheets among other things, which keep younger visitors occupied while the adults engage with the content. Throughout the building a careful balance has been achieved between artefact display, panel based narrative and technology-based & hands-on interactives, to cater for all learning styles and intellectual abilities.

Scope

Content Mapping,
Research & Scripting

Concept Planning &
Interpretive Theme Strategy

Spatial Design, Visitor
Flow, Lighting & Colour
Consultation

Interpretive Design &
Consultation, including
Interactives, Model &
Reproductions

Development of AV Content
& Educational Activities

Image Research,
Cataloguing & Selection

Artefact Conservation,
Mounting & Photography

Display Case Design

Reporting to Stakeholders
& Presenting to Project
Steering Group

Liaising with Architects,
Builders & Sub-Contractors

Lagan Legacy

Tandem was first commissioned by Lagan Legacy to assist in their Stage Two application to Heritage Lottery Fund for the development of a Maritime Heritage Centre to be located within the MV Confiance, which was successful in June 2009.

It was essential to ensure visitor movement and flow continued throughout the entire barge, from the Gallery and Multi-Use Space below deck, to the upper deck Café. In the exhibition gallery, visitor flow was achieved by taking a ‘zoned’ approach to the interpretive layout, using graphic devices and colour changes to indicate new theme sections.

A computer terminal provides visitor access to reminiscence from ‘Oceans In Mind’ outreach project, and additional archive material is accessed through touch screens located throughout space. There are hands-on physical, educational and technology-based interactives and puzzles spread throughout the gallery alongside artefact and memorabilia displays, including Canberra plans totalling 12 different decks on display in custom-made vitrines with drawers.

Our ultimate goal would be to collaboratively link the interpretative experience at the Titanic’s Dock & Pump-House with the experiences at the MV Confiance, the Nomadic and Titanic Signature Project to future proof and enhance the maritime visitor experience in Belfast.

Scope

Content Mapping &
Conceptual Framework

Concept Planning &
Interpretive Theme Strategy

Spatial Design &
Visitor Flow

Interpretive Design,
Web Design, Touch
Screen Programming
& Branding

Object Selection,
Mounting & Display Cases

Image Research,
Cataloguing & Selection

Lighting & Colour
Consultation

Management of Project
& all Sub-Contractors

Reporting to Stakeholders &
Presenting to Project Steering Group

Liaising with Architects,
Builders & Sub-Contractors

Ulster's Sporting Heroes

The Ulster Sports Museum Association, comprised of Ronnie Spence, Dame Mary Peters and Nigel Carr among others, are the driving force behind the campaign to tell the story of Ulster’s top sportsmen and sportswomen.

The exhibition tour started in the east entrance of Belfast City Hall, and because the foyer space contains many entrances and pillars, we chose the modular mila-wall® system for the exhibition walls. Because the module walls are so lightweight, this allows for the exhibition to be split into smaller sections, each to be transported or displayed separately as and when the Association require.

The exhibition was divided into key sports sections with an additional 'Telling Your Stories' section, where visitors could leave feedback on which sportsperson or sport they’d like to see included in an Ulster Sports Museum, or comment on a memorable sporting occasion. LCD screens and digiframes of varying sizes were fitted to the exhibition walls, affording the opportunity to have screens dedicated to each particular section.

We worked closely with the Ulster Sports Museum Association to define the key artefacts and memorabilia to go on display alongside the exhibition panels, which ranged from various trophies and caps, to George Best’s shirt and boots, Dawson Stelfox’s Everest climbing suit and the bronze bust of Dame Mary Peters. Due to the significant monetary and sentimental value of some of the artefacts, we produced plinths of various sizes, featuring display cases, with all cases locking together for extra security.

Scope

Identifying the theme
and sub-themes

Defining and researching
key stories

Allocating and prioritising budget to various and most appropriate delivery mechanisms

Copywriting

Image and memorabilia
artefact selection

Design of space and interpretation

Production of still
image movies

First use of mila-wall system
in Northern Ireland

Grey Abbey Visitor Centre

NIEA manage a number of key sites across two of the five Signature Projects identified by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board in 2004 – the Causeway Coastal Route and St Patrick’s Christian Heritage Trail. One of the NIEA sites included in the St Patrick’s Trail was Grey Abbey, and it was felt that the display in the visitor centre could be enhanced to further improve the visitor’s appreciation and knowledge of the Abbey and also encourage visits to other St Patrick’s Trail and NIEA sites.

We began by redefining the content and planned for the visitor centre to be divided into two distinct spaces, with one room focusing on Cistercian Monks and life in the Abbey, and the other concentrating on the work of Stone Masons and the construction of the Abbey – our main focus was to represent the many different aspects of the narrative through a layered and linear approach, which intertwines key facts and content in a connected and comprehensible way.

We produced wooden puzzles with different difficulty levels, and visitors can also take rubbings of different stone masons’ marks, and leave a permanent record of their visit by designing their own mark in the Stone Masons’ Ledger.

The Abbey stones were wall mounted alongside illustrations showing them in their original position, giving them context, and we updated the mode, producing a clear perspex casing that features a plan line drawing of the Abbey in coloured vinyl to indicate the original layout of the Abbey as well as the present day remains.

Scope

Identifying key stories

Allocating and prioritising budget to various and most appropriate delivery mechanisms

Planning space & content

Mounting of artefacts

Design of interpretation
and interactives

Lighting

Discover Lifelines in
The National Library
of Ireland

The National Library of Ireland contracted Tandem to design an exhibition to commemorate the immense success of the Lifelines project, started by English teacher Niall MacMonagle and his Fifth Year pupils from Wesley College, Dublin in 1985.

The students wrote to famous people asking for their favourite poem and the reasons for their choice, with a view to donating any money raised to the Third World. They received hundreds of replies from people as diverse and renowned as Mother Theresa, Bertie Ahern, Graham Norton and Judi Dench and compiled the responses into
a book. By 2006 Lifelines raised over €100,000 for Concern and
has been dubbed 'the best poetry anthology ever'.

The exhibition begins at a 6m long wall made up of 13 panels with three recesses, two of which have a built-in desk surface each with lighting, for visitors to read copies of the New & Collected edition in more detail. It continues across the second feature wall featuring excerpts of letters from famous people. Other features include an
area for sharing a favourite poem.

To encourage a flow throughout the small space, we avoided designing the exhibition in a linear sequence, instead affording
visitors the ability to start at any point and move from one section
to another without the narrative flow being lost.

Scope

Defining key stories

Allocating and prioritising
budget to various and
most appropriate
delivery mechanisms

Copywriting

Image research
and selection

Design of space and
interpretation

Waking a Giant
in Belfast City Hall

To enhance the tourism potential of the City Hall, Belfast City Council thought it appropriate to theme a new coffee shop area to highlight Belfast’s evolution into one of the UK’s foremost industrial cities, notably during the 19th and early 20th centuries, extending right up to the present day. The City Hall was one of the most appropriate places to pay homage to the tens of thousands of workers who helped build Belfast because it provides a tangible and unique link to our industrial past that even today is seen as a symbol of Belfast’s position in the modern world.

We were briefed to design an exhibition space that celebrated and illustrated the contribution of ordinary working people to the development of the city via their employment in the heavy industries, notably shipbuilding, engineering, rope manufacturing, linen & textile manufacture and export, tobacco processing, glass making and similar related industries. The space functions as both a coffee shop and exhibition space, so it was important to achieve a balance between the coffee shop space and a full scale interpretative exhibition. The exhibition covers a broad range of industries, from the well known to the obscure, and presents information in ‘digestable’ paragraphs, which aim to make the whole exhibition flexible in terms of the order in which it is approached, and accessible to a wide range of abilities and interests.

Central to the exhibition are two curved walls facing each other, telling the story of Belfast at the start of the 17th century and the story of Belfast’s biggest, and interlinked, industries that produced linen, iron, ships and rope. A high-level timeline featuring key industrial dates in the history of Belfast runs across three walls in the room and is of a size and position to be viewable from any part of the coffee shop, remaining visible even if the coffee shop is full. A main feature of the space is the stunning ‘Faces’ wall, which features a blend of portraits of the well-known businessmen and industrial figureheads, combined with striking images of the anonymous workers at the shipyards and foundries, mills and factories. The wall itself consists of 68 individual boxes of differing depths, with the faces literally representing the building blocks that make up the city.

Scope

Allocating and prioritising budget to various and most appropriate delivery mechanisms

Scripting and copywriting

Image selection

Design of space and interpretation

Lighting & colour scheme consultation

Production of still image movies

Famous Faces in
Belfast City Hall

The ‘No Mean City’ Exhibition is a celebration of the famous faces either from or associated with Belfast over the last 100 years. ‘No Mean City’ was a Belfast City Council project that previously existed as a temporary exhibition within the City Hall before it was closed for refurbishment.

After we were contracted to design the interpretation and branding of the Coffee Shop space in the City Hall, Tandem were briefed to design a permanent exhibition space for ‘No Mean City' in a small room just off the 'Waking a Giant' exhibition. We felt the original exhibition didn’t do justice to the world class photographic portraits, so we recommended some new additions and selected the final 68 portraits that make up the striking picture wall, choosing people from a broad and diverse range of disciplines and backgrounds.

The end result is a visually stunning exhibition complete with an interactive facility, which utilises touchscreens to tell the story of each of the subjects who range from sporting stars and singers to artists and poets. We were careful to position the two touchscreens at different heights compliant with disability regulations and ensure that this exhibition would be accessible to all. In the centre of the room is a panel that features information on the 'People’s Choice', Joe Kavanagh, and we've also included a blank space among the photos so that visitors can stop to think about the next successful son or daughter of the city who will grace the same wall in the future.

Scope

Allocating and prioritising budget to various and most appropriate delivery mechanisms

Image selection

Design of space and interpretation

Lighting & colour scheme consultation

Your Space or Mine
Exhibition & Report

We were commissioned to develop a series of Interpretative Panels and accompanying report for the ‘Your Space or Mine?’ project, about interface communities and property developers at loggerheads in Londonderry. The aim of the project was to listen to what each party wanted from their built environment, which was undertaken by Architecture Research in Tensioned Societies (ARTS) at the University of Ulster. We decided that for the printed material, maximum impact would be achieved with a double-sided A1 document that folded down to A4 size. Combined with the panels, the printed material worked well to present all the information in a manner that was easy to digest, whilst staying within the constraints of time and budget.

Scope

Interpretative consultation,
design and art direction

A1 summary document

New Ulster Hall Brand
Rolled Out Across Range
of Print Collateral

Along with developing the branding, we applied the new graphic style to the new season events programme, site hoarding, building banners, stationery, civic re-opening souvenir programme, tickets and audio tour guide. To top it all off, the lead architect also contracted us to develop the internal wayfinding signage.

Scope

Opening Season Event Guide

Fringe Festival Event Guide

Civic Re-opening
Souvenir Programme

Audio Tour Guide

Titanic’s Dock & Pump-House
Key Stage 2 Education Pack

Shortly after completing the Titanic’s Dock & Pump-House interpretative project, we made a successful tender application to the Northern Ireland Science Park to develop an Education Pack for
Key Stage 2. Working with our education consultant, we explored the cross-curriculum education links, building on the recently completed interpretative project. Our knowledge of the subject was already quite extensive, and we used our previous experience with the subject matter to help us pare down the technical content to a level and design that was suitable for 9-11 year-olds.

We developed and designed a promotional PDF and email banner, pre-visit, during visit and post-visit pupil’s activity sheets, teacher’s notes and a number of additional indoor and outdoor activities. We also rendered two CGI characters, Jonny the apprentice and Mr Morris the supervisor, for an educational film, making savings on the budget by featuring re-edited sequences from the interpretative movies.

Scope

Teachers' Pack linking to
NI Curriculum Key Stage 2

Pre-visit & Post-visit
Activity Packs

'How the Pump-House Worked' Movie

'Outdoor Quest' Walking Quiz

'Quizdom' Interactive Quiz

Cast Bronze Interpretation
for Mountsandel Wood

Through careful planning we produced a robust outdoor interpretative trail which is sympathetic to its surroundings and merits the Mountsandel site’s historical and archaeological importance.

During the 1970s, excavations found evidence of an early Mesolithic site in Mountsandel Wood dating back to around 7000BC, making it the oldest archaeological site in Ireland. We were contracted by Coleraine Borough Council to design and build an interpretative trail following our creative pitch – we felt that the significance of the site deserved interpretation that was unique and built to last, so we decided to utilise native oak structures to support bronze cast panels.

Scope

Interpretative consultation,
design and art direction

Research and defining
the story to be told

Sourcing of materials

Managing the project, budget
and multiple sub-contractors

Interpretative Fit-out for
Restored Ulster Hall

The ‘people’s music venue’, now affectionately known as the ‘Grand Dame’, is without doubt one of Belfast’s key heritage assets and the site of major political and entertainment landmarks that have shaped the city’s cultural identity. With an £8.5m refurbishment underway, Tandem was brought in to tie the separate strands of many varied stories together into a unified interpretative experience.

The Ulster Hall is still a working building so we decided that an audio tour, narrated by the Grand Dame herself, was the best way to tell the seven key stories without physically encroaching on the building. We designed a listening point for each story, featuring a short narrative and listing the other tours available to encourage visitors to delve deeper into the building’s many other fascinating facets.

Designing the space for the newly restored JW Carey paintings, valued at £850,000, proved to be one of the project’s more challenging aspects. We worked closely alongside the council’s heritage officer, the architects and the builders to appropriately present, conserve, display and interpret these valuable works of art.

Scope

Interpretative consultation,
design and art direction

Researching and defining
the key stories, scripting
and copywriting

Researching and sourcing
of all images

Reporting to stakeholders,
liaising with architects and builders

Production of audio tours

Managing the project, budget
and multiple sub-contractors

Northern Ireland
Museums Council

The Northern Ireland Museums Council was established under Ministerial order in 1993, composed of representatives from the regional museums in Northern Ireland, the National Museums & Galleries of Northern Ireland, District Councils in Northern Ireland, nominees of the Minister of Culture, Arts & Leisure, a nominee of the universities in Northern Ireland, and representatives of the independent museums.

NIMC approached Tandem in 2002 having identified a need to develop a corporate style that could be rolled out across their numerous publications. The need for a corporate style that not only delivered on fundamentals such as clarity of information and wide user appeal, but also on longevity was the basis for the subsequent style that was implemented.

Scope

Stationery
Annual Reports
Collections Audit Report
Mapping Trends Report
Museum Calling Cards

'Your Place or Mine?'
Yearbook

PLACE is an acronym for Planning, Landscape, Architecture, Community and Environment, which are all key elements in the work that PLACE does. PLACE aim to improve the built environment in Northern Ireland, enabling better public awareness and promoting higher standards, by providing a flexible space for exhibitions and events on all aspects of the built environment.

PLACE contracted Tandem in August 2007 to produce a Yearbook to review their first three years. The book is a record of reviews, events, activities and exhibitions organised by PLACE since being established in September 2004, and provides an insight into their philosophy and achievements. Your PLACE or Mine? was designed in two parts as a tumble book format, divided into two main sections - Essays and Exhibitions. Tandem were heavily involved with the photography used in the book and worked in consultation with PLACE to create a stunning document that has an oversized format and uses a variety of different papers to separate and define the different sections of content.

Scope

'Your PLACE or Mine?'
Yearbook

'Your PLACE or Mine?'
Yearbook CD and Packaging

Launch Invitation

Feedback Form

Promotional Flyer

Human Rights
Consortium

The Human Rights Consortium is dedicated to campaigning for a strong and inclusive Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. Its membership is drawn from a diverse range of sectors and constituencies, including non-governmental organisations, trade unions and community and voluntary groups.

As the content of the Bill of Rights is still under development and will only be defined through consultation with the population of Northern Ireland, it will evolve and change over the years until it becomes established. Tandem’s brief was to develop a strong graphic style that could be applied across all media that would become instantly recognisable and promote the more positive aspect of what HRC are trying to achieve.

Scope

Branding Concept
Stationery
Folder & Inserts
Exhibition Stands

The Open House Festival 10

The Open House Festival takes place annually during September in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter. Open House is a genuine boutique festival and with nearly 50 events each year offers cutting edge music programming bursting at the seams with the new wave of American Roots Music, Old-Time, punky Bluegrass, Cajun & Creole, Punk Blues, Irish Traditional Music, Alt Country and even a bourbon-soaked, snake-charming rock’n’roll cabaret, as well as the recent addition of the ChilliFest, which features 3 days of red hot American Music, food and ice cold beer.

Scope

Festival Programmes
Flyers and Posters
Press Advertising
Chilli Sauce Bottle Labels
Invitations and Postcards
T-shirts

Brand Overhaul for
Heritage Lottery Fund

Heritage Lottery Fund briefed us to deliver an invigorated, new corporate identity that would increase the effectiveness of their communications in line with their new 2008 strategic plan, and ensure that Lottery players could better see and understand how their money is being spent. One of the most challenging aspects of the brief was to reconcile the HLF supporting funder logo with the National Lottery ‘crossed fingers’ logo without compromising on the brand’s own visual identity, which the previous logo had failed to do.

We worked alongside HLF’s Head of Information & Publication to make sure that all staff and members of the board were fully on-board with the new concept – initial testing of the branding by Opinion Leader confirmed that we’d achieved one of the highest acceptance rates ever recorded from both employees and members of the public, something we’re very proud of. Since launching the brand, we’ve developed a complete set of guidelines and continue to work with Head Office to ensure that consistency is maintained across the board.

Scope

Re-branding of organisation

Establishment of guidelines
for roll-out of brand

Development of 4-tier
corporate literature

Advisory role to HLF on
environmental issues

Project management and
print procurement

Art direction of all media

Landmark Interpretative
Fit-out for Titanic's Dock
and Pump-House

The project centred around the Thompson Dock, the Alexandra Dock and the combined pump-house. Tandem won the contract after a tender process which culminated in a presentation to the selection panel where we received a unanimous verdict.

The entire fit-out was implemented over a 6 month period and included management of the budget, the entire AV, sound and light installation, image and story research, interpretative panel design and manufacture, scale referencing for the dock and all animation and movie presentations for the experience.

What resulted is a visitor experience that educates, excites, encourages repeat visits and engages with a broad target audience ranging from locals to overseas tourists of all ages.

Scope

Defining and communicating story to be told

Researching and sourcing all imagery

Allocating and prioritising budget to various and most appropriate delivery mechanisms

Script and copywriting

Advisory role to NISP on project

Management of project and all sub-contractors

Art direction of all interpretation

Portrait of a Nation Brand

Portrait of a Nation was a nationwide campaign that was run in 2007 and 2008 by the Liverpool Culture Company, member cities of the Cultural Cities Network and the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of the European Capital of Culture 2008 celebrations. After winning a national creative pitch, we developed a strong and cohesive brand that not only participants but general members of the public could identify with. In addition to this, we developed a series of regional sub-brands and complete set of guidelines, and delivered a presentation to all participants on the importance of consistency in the implementation of the brand and guidelines.

Scope

Branding, Guidelines and
Web Consultation

The North Sperrins Heritage Trail and The Limavady Heritage Trail

The North Sperrins Heritage Trail was developed as a driving trail that closely follows a section of the North Sperrins Scenic Route with the aim of providing visitors with easy access to a range of heritage sites. The project was an initiative of Feeny Community Association in partnership with Limavady Borough Council.

The Limavady Heritage Trail was developed by the Causeway Museum Service to draw people’s attention to sites of historical interest that have previously been overlooked and to encourage more people to take part in and enjoy their heritage.

Scope

North Sperrins Heritage
Trail Map Guide

North Sperrins Heritage
Trail Guide

North Sperrins
Interpretative Panels

North Sperrins Map Panels

Limavady Heritage Trail Pack

DV8

DV8 is a leading UK retailer of branded clothing, footwear and accessories for fashion conscious men and women. DV8’s aim is to deliver the latest high street trends with a range to suit all budgets, and are continually expanding their brand portfolio, currently stocking much sought after brands such as Henley’s, Bench, Firetrap, K-Swiss, Converse, Timberland, Gio-Goi, Only and Vila.

DV8 are fast becoming one of the leading branded retailers on the high street in the UK, with currently over 20 DV8 stores throughout the UK and Ireland, as well as an online store.

Scope

Store Design
Branding
Promotional Branding
Bags
Seasonal Window Graphics
Point of Sale Material
Gift Vouchers
Stationery

Causeway Museum Service

The Causeway Museum Service was established in 2000 and is a partnership of four local authorities established to develop and deliver museum services. Coleraine Borough Council is the lead partner with Ballymoney, Moyle and Limavady Councils.

Causeway Museum Service has grown since 2000 through strategic planning to develop and deliver policy, temporary exhibition programming, collections care, community outreach, collections development, publications and to secure partnerships, external funding and promotion.

Scope

Series of Touring Exhibitions
& Publications

McQuoids

Established in 1938, McQuoids is an independent firm of Estate Agents and Chartered Surveyors specialising in all aspects of commercial and residential property, having built their reputation on honesty and integrity. Ben McQuoid is the third generation of surveyors in the McQuoid family, and is now supported by a dedicated team of property professionals offering a complete general practice surveyors and estate agency based on an extensive knowledge of the local market.

Scope

Branding and Stationery
Property Brochures
Internal & External Signage
Internal Design & Fit-out
Building Wrap
Sale Boards
Website

Belfast City Council
Interpretative Exhibitions

Dockers’ & Carters’ Strike, 1907 Exhibition

In 1907, Belfast City Hall had just opened at a cost of £360,000, equivalent to about £21 million of today’s money. The city also claimed the world’s largest linen mill and the largest ropeworks, and Harland & Wolff was the world’s largest shipbuilder. 2007 marked the anniversary of the Dockers’ and Carters’ strike in Belfast, arguably the most significant event in the history of the trade union movement in Northern Ireland, where a massive march took place from east to west Belfast organised by Belfast Trades Council.


Belfast Through Cartography Exhibition

During the 19th century Belfast changed from a semi-rural town to a city, with a population of 53,000 in 1831 to 386,047 in 1911, and its area grew from about 1 square mile to 23 square miles.
At the same time, how Belfast was seen and recorded was also altered – in 1824 the first comprehensive, accurately surveyed, large mapping project in the world started to record Ireland at a scale of six inches to the mile, while in 1839 Ireland’s first photograph was taken in Belfast, changing forever the way artists would represent the world around them.

Scope

Touring Exhibition for
Belfast City Council

Touring Exhibition for Belfast City Council and Irish Congress of Trade Unions

Age Awareness Week

The Changing Ageing Partnership (CAP), funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies, brings together Age Concern Northern Ireland, Help the Aged, Queen’s University Belfast and the Workers’ Educational Association, organising an annual Age Awareness Week that aims to highlight to the rest of society the issues of discrimination that can affect older people.

Age Awareness Week 2008 (Rights) proved to be particularly successful following a month long run of press ads, billboards and streetliners to raise its profile throughout the province, and for the first time ever, the 2008 annual general meeting was oversubscribed!

We were retained to deliver the media campaign for Age Awareness Week 2009 (Representation), and saw the addition of a discussion forum to the website, feedback forms, onboard bus advertising, and a radio advertisement which ran across Downtown Radio, Cool FM and U105. 2009 proved to be Age Awareness Week's most successful week to date, with Age Awareness Week 2010 (Recognition) to follow later in the year.

Scope

Branding Concept
Newspaper Ads
Billboards
Bus Sides
Bus Internal Commuter Cards
Posters and Flyers
Events Programme
Feedback Form
Radio Ad
Website & Forum

TMC Estate Agents

Situated in the competitive area of South Belfast, TMC Estate Agents comprise a team of dedicated property professionals and mortgage advisors, who pride themselves on their fresh, approachable service.

Scope

Branding and Stationery
Window Posters
Property Brochures
Billboards
Press Advertising
Mailshot
Vehicle Livery