Description
What is The Royal British Legions ‘Thank You’ Campaign?
On the 3rd August in 2018, the Royal British Legion initiated a ‘Thank You’ campaign by installing giant 8ft letters at London’s South Bank. Members of the public were invited to write special messages on each of the individual letters as a gesture of ‘thanks’ to the many individuals who served, sacrificed and changed the world during the First World War.
Commissioned by the Royal British Legion, a temporary exhibition was installed at the National Memorial Arboretum to give the visiting public, staff and volunteers an opportunity to reflect on the impact of the Great War. A number of legacies left behind by this War generation were used to create a visually inspiring and engaging exhibition. The role of women, advancements in technology and the innovation of everyday products made very interesting and thought provoking subject matters.
Our commission…
Brand Jam was asked to design two pieces for the Arboretum’s ‘Thank you’. The first was a ‘Thank You Inspiration Pack’ for schools, the ideas of which then transpired into to the actual ‘Thank you’ exhibition which was displayed inside the Remembrance Centre.
We delivered…
‘Thank You’ Inspiration Pack
In January 2018, Chris Robinson was commissioned conceptually designed a downloadable resource booklet. Its aim was to inspire young people to pay tribute to the generation of the First World War through using ‘creative expression’ of appreciation and gratitude.
The resource booklet was deliberately fun and engaging and designed to create an enchanting visual appeal to children as their thoughts and ideas are always important source of inspiration.
The book encouraged them to create pieces of art and poetry inspired by the events of the First World War. These were entered into a ‘Thank You Creative Competition’, judged by the National Memorial Arboretum, The Royal British Legion and charity Never Such Innocence. Winning entries were chosen to feature in the ‘Thank You’ exhibition that would sit pride of place in the Remembrance Centre.
‘Thank You’ Exhibition
Winning ideas from the inspiration packs were followed through into a temporary exhibition. The children’s ideas inspired Chris’ design of large, colourful graphic panels for each of the featured legacies.
His vision was colourful, mixing a scrap book style with powerful real-life photography obtained from the Imperial War Museum. Fun pop out boxes were added to make interesting facts really stand out against intriguing imagery. Every aspect of the graphic boards were thoughtfully designed to encapsulate stories of how sanitary pads, wristwatches, helmets and zips were invented during the Great War. Other large panels and an accompanying time lime were created to describe why the ‘1918 Education Act’, Alcohol Licensing Laws and Daylight Saving Time was introduced.
Every part of the exhibition worked to highlight some of the most intriguing legacies inspired by the war. Our aim was to leave visitors with a feeling that they’d learned something new and interesting in a way that wasn’t at all boring.
- Categories : Exhibition & Event
- Client : The Royal British Legion
