Neonatal Unit Enhancements, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital

 

 

 

Firecatcher were delighted to design a scheme for the Neonatal Ward at Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham. Through a ‘Secret Garden’ theme we explored nature and the idea of the garden being a safe, calm place where things can grow and bloom. We created designs that evoked a sense of calm, curiosity and a feeling of wellbeing with a touch of humour.

Taking inspiration from the Secret Garden book, we created enhancements that would not only decorate the space, but create areas of interest and detail for the parents and the staff who are spending long periods of time in one area. Small details are woven into the leaves for people to spot including little creatures as well as some nice inspirational words and messages of hope.

As well as brightening up the space, a number of enhancements were used as informative devices; encouraging hand washing, presenting health and hospital information, and way-finding.

The colour palette chosen uses a selection of calming, complimentary colours which when used in combination with the neutral wall space create a friendly and contemporary look.

Click here to visit our facebook album and see all the photos.

A Celebration of 3D and Physics

 

We had a lot of fun working on the 3D brochure, mainly through the wearing of the red/cyan goggles to check our stereograms were working!  This fantastic season of films, talks and exhibitions from the irrepressible QUAD in Derby was complemented with a 3D trail exploring the theories of gravity...

 

These small stickers were placed throughout the gallery and allowed visitors to learn a little about gravitational theories from Newton onwards, and all in 3D!  

Charity Christmas Card Design - Cure Rett

We were extremely proud to be asked to design this year's Cure Rett Christmas Card!  After working with the fantastic people at the Olive Beaumont Foundation we have been really interested in helping to raise money for the charity Cure Rett, working towards finding a cure for Rett Syndrome, a devastating brain disorder affecting predominantly young girls.  We designed the above cards, using a limited colour palette and lovely brown paper.  Hopefully they will play their part in raising money for this amazing charity.  To find out more about Rett Syndrome, visit www.curerett.org

The Pulvertaft Hand Centre

Located within the Royal Derby Hospital, the Pulvertaft Centre is a specialist hand surgery, treating a wide range of conditions of the hand and wrist. Firecatcher were asked to design a series of enhancements for the Paediatric area, incorporating locations in and around Derby for younger patients to spot, all designed in a bright, contemporary, graphic style.

Our first task was to get out and about with the old sketchbook and camera and gather some research materials!

We decided to use hands as a graphic device to lead the eye around the image, pointing out areas of interest, creating conversation with the viewer whilst performing tasks related to the locations within the designs.

 Hand Studies...

As well as looking at geographical areas of the city, we focused on different areas of interest within Derby life including leisure activities, industry, travel, creative and sporty Derby.

Welcome Wall Enhancements

 Creative Derby...

Leisure time ...

A wonderful project to work on and we've had some great, positive feedback from staff and patients already. You can see all of the photos and enhancement designs here.

Dolphin Ward Enhancements - Royal Derby Hospital

Oh to be under the sea!  We loved creating these calming, decorative enhancements for Dolphin Ward in Royal Derby Hospital.  The tranquil tones, incredible sea creatures and swirling waves were a pleasure to work on, and were installed in 8 bedrooms and corridors throughout the Unit.  If you'd like to see some more photos, click here for our facebook album!

Wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey stuff at QUAD, Derby

We've just had lots of fun producing a mini brochure for QUAD, celebrating the upcoming Time Travel Season, featuring art, movies, talks and more on the subject of the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.  We created tiny circular cogs that sent straight timelines off in a more curvaceous route.  Is that a TARDIS materializing we can hear..?

An exclusive new brand goes live!

Over the past month we have been creating a brand identity for Angel Montague Sayers, an emerging and award winning talent in the session styling world, working for leading brands such as L’Oréal Professional, Vogue and Elle magazine to name just a few and at fashion week shows in London, New York, Milan and Paris.

It was important therefore that we designed and positioned a brand that belongs in this exclusive market place. With this is mind we set about creating a brand that would be seen as a mark of creativity, craftsmanship, high quality and distinction.

Clean, modern linear lines form together to create the symbol, whilst a subtle icon in the form of a pair of scissors gives a subtle yet distinctive suggestion to her profession. Finally the classic typeface chosen displays an elegance and sophistication that is paramount to the brand.

The overall result is a contemporary brand identity that is both, refined, and elegant, with a view to longevity in mind.

Following on from this we have designed a new portfolio website for all of Angel's latest work and a view behind the scenes into her world as a session stylist. With fashion week shows just around the corner the website will act as a great primary touch point and a highly professional showcase. 

Visit the website < here >

Derby Hospital's Newest Jungle...

 

 

 

Our latest, jungle-themed enhancements at Derby Hospital! With limited wall space, tropical birds and sleepy animals were designed to run along the top of the walls so the children could lie in bed and spot the different brightly coloured beasts at their leisure!  We like to think they watch over them and send them pleasant dreams too.

Click here to see the facebook photo album! 

Olive Beaumont Foundation

We've recently updated the Olive Beaumont Foundation website with all of the latest fundraising events and news. We were so pleased to be asked to design the website to support Olive's Foundation in 2012, set up to raise money and awareness for Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder that occurs mainly in young girls, causing their physical and speech development to stall or cease. 

We were honoured to join family and friends of Olive at Reverse Festival this summer helping to support Cure Rett and all the great work they do. You can find out more about Olive and how to donate to Cure Rett by visiting the website < here >

Summer Nights Film Festival

We were so pleased to be once again asked to design the artwork for the annual Summer Nights Film Festival in Derby.  This outdoor cinema festival has grown again this year, featuring some fantastic films such as Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises and Les Miserables.

 

Working with the logo designed last year, we developed the look and paired it with the fantastic photography of Graham Lucas Commons (click here to visit his website) to create a dreamy, summery feel to leaflets, banners and flyers.

30 years of the National Media Museum

We were very excited to be given the task of designing a visual identity for the National Media Museum's 30th Birthday celebrations, not least because it opened on the exact same day our very own Bex was born!

We came up with a bright, celebratory style logo, using film reels to embellish the 30 and a vibrant colour palette to be seen throughout the museum.  The identity was used across balloons, t-shirts, badges, bunting, as well as posters and banners throughout the museum.

 We spent the day exploring the museum and created a range of supporting illustrations of several of the key objects within the space, from Daleks to cameras, to the Big Ben microphone responsible for the 'bongs' on the radio during the 50s and 60s, to Thunderbirds and Wombles...

The design was used across a range of design assets, including flyers, posters and banners.  We worked closely with the curators to produce a number of 'trail markers', highlighting 6 of the key objects that visitors were to discover upon their next visit.

 

We also produced a 4m x 2m wall graphic that was installed in the foyer of the museum.  This details the key events in the museum's history, as well as some of the celebrations in store over the coming year.  Firecatcher wishes the Media Museum a very happy 30th birthday and a successful 2013!

Sunshine Deck, Royal Derby Hospital

Yesterday saw the opening of the newly refurbished Sunshine Deck at Royal Derby Hospital's Children's Unit.  We were asked to create a scheme of vinyls to cover the windows surrounding the deck, using the existing colours on site.

We used a range of brightly coloured transparent vinyls to create a contemporary, fun geometric design that was suitable for the wide age group that would use the unit.  We overlapped the vinyls to create new shades and a sense of depth for the compositions.

Some areas of the scheme needed to be fully printed, so we developed a number of games to allow the children to interact with the artwork, including a board game style illustration, encouraging the children to play creatively.  Oh, and pull a silly face.

An alphabet ran along several other boards, also using the geometric style.

In all, we covered over 35 panels with Firecatcher artwork, creating a vibrant, fun and modern space for playing.