Kingswood Arts Signage Design

Read about the design project by Alex Makes for Kingswood Arts here, or follow the link to view the project page: ☞ Signage Design for Kingswood Arts

Kingswood House 1914

Not far from the hidden away Sydenham Hill Station, on the Kingswood Estate in Dulwich, lies a historical gem that I fell in love with at first sight. Given the nickname ‘the Castle’ by locals, the crenellated parapets of the Kingswood House mansion feel whimsical and unexpected amongst the blocks of the council estate that surround it.

Kingswood House is a Victorian Grade II listed building with a colourful history, having changed hands many times over the years including ownership by the inventor of Bovril, and the local council. Then after a long lockdown period it went into private ownership once again and began its transformation into the non-profit community hub known as Kingswood Arts.

Briefing

I was able to contribute to Kingswood Arts’ transformation process by providing feedback during a consultation of local creatives, and offering my creative services.

I had attended a historical tour of the building and walked around the grounds to get a feel of the atmosphere, an understanding of the site's history, and what Kingswood Arts hope to achieve in the area going forward. I would get more information about this through the design briefing process during which my client provided detailed specifications about their goals with the project and supplied relevant brand assets for me to work with.

For this project, we would focus on the design of navigational and informational signage to be posted on the grounds of Kingswood House and at one of the entrances to Kingswood Estate. I prepared a proposal document for the client, to confirm our shared vision of what should be achieved and then began the design process.

Previous signage near entrance to Kingswood Estate

Previous signage near Kingswood House

Drafting

As is usual in my design process, I first brainstorm ideas and then iteratively develop the designs before selecting a few to present. The first concepts were presented with explanations for my design choices, and how each might meet the design brief in different ways. With feedback from the client on which concept they feel would most likely meet the goals of the project, I focused on utilising the most relevant design features when designing the next drafts.

Design drafts for Kingswood Arts signage

Mockups of Kingswood Arts signage with design concepts

Mockups of Kingswood Arts signage with draft designs

Printing

We wanted the signs to be durable and long-lasting, needing to survive the English weather for as long as possible, while providing good visibility for navigation to Kingswood House. Working with local printers that could provide a relatively eco-friendly solution at a reasonable price would be ideal, so I researched some options and provided quotes for approval to the client. I could then use the appropriate print specifications to prepare the print files.

I visited Kingswood Arts again to check the locations of the signs and how they would be affixed before we ordered the prints. In this case, I recommended aluminium composite and PVC-free vinyl for use with the existing posts that would still be in quite good condition when repaired and cleaned up.

Kingswood Arts signage print design

Reviewing

New signage for Kingswood Arts, designed by Alex Makes

This project resulted in high quality print signage that was highly visible, easy to understand, and met the brief of presenting the brand clearly. We wanted the design to be accessible to a wide range of people, appeal to local community and paying service-users, keeping in mind heritage of the location, creative services and community focus. We met that goal, and I was pleased to receive positive feedback from Kingswood Arts regarding the creative process and outcomes.

Kingswood Arts printed signage

The sign that Alex created was perfect for what we needed. Excellent communication and high quality end product. Very good customer service. Would 100% use them again!

- Jack Hartshorn, Kingswood Arts CIC