…. even if we say so ourselves. This project continues to intrigue and delight us here at Arbu, not only because the visual material we have been sent is so strong, but because of the variety of historical material these Museums and Heritage sites exhibit. When we were writing the back cover copy, something which I took particular pleasure in, we could draw upon the entirety of Scottish history for inspiration. The result was some of the bast marketing copy I have written for a while:

“Viking, Celt or Pict, Sassenach, Gael or Scot, Argyll & Bute’s museums will bring your heritage to life.

“From bronze age man to the Picts and the Gaels, from the Spanish Armade thrugh the Clearances to the rise of the Victorian Industrialists, the museums and heritage sites in this guide, together create a stunning narrative of life in the region which spans its beautiful geography as much as its complex and ancient past.

“Learn about the lives of the ordinary folk as well as the clan chiefs, of the battles fought here as well as the peace lived, of the craft and artistry of the West Coast people as well as the harshness of some of their lives.

“This guide is designed to introduce you to the full breadth of Argyll and Bute’s heritage, and perhaps connect you with yours!

Now aside from writing superlative copy, one of our underplayed strengths, the branding and visuals have provided us with some challenges we have relished. For example, the original logo, works extremely well on its own, however in this context we needed to give the visitor a guide on what the Forum actually means and how it is trying to connect with its audience, hence the tag, “Bring your heritage to life!”. We wanted to subliminally empower the visitor, ask them to see these venues as being of value because of their, the visitor’s, attention. It also brings in the idea of folk tracing their genealogy, taking a positive role in constructing an historical narrative in which their family plays a part – after all what are we most interested in? Ourselves. And then there is also the idea that these 15 Great Museums create a really fantastic themed tour around Argyll, allowing the guide’s users to bring their heritage to life in a narrative of the actual journey to each of these venues.

Related articles by Zemanta

• A gift from Rothesay to Rothesay (forargyll.com)
• Argyll’s MSP and Energy Minister, Jim Mather, responds to concerns over Kintyre grid upgrade (forargyll.com)
• Argyll & Bute Council sees third consecutive unanimous acceptance of its budget amid sense of positive collective responsibility (forargyll.com)
• Early invasion by Ireland evidenced by DNA in Islay, Skye, Harris and Lewis (forargyll.com)
• Reaper to visit Argyll: Oban and Tobermory (forargyll.com)
• Two wild winning opportunities for Argyll farmers (forargyll.com)

This entry was posted on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 3:33 pm and is filed under branding, design, news, photoshop, picture research, portfolio, print. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.