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Knebworth House
Design support for one of England's most iconic estates
• Brochure design & artwork
• Educational materials
• Event materials
• Press advertising
• Social media design
• Icon design
• Brand guidelines
• Brand concept & naming
Client since 2017
Ongoing marketing support for a busy heritage attraction
Knebworth House is one of England's most famous historic houses, set within 250 acres of parkland in Hertfordshire. Home to the Lytton family for over 500 years, it's also a major visitor attraction hosting events, school visits, holiday lets and seasonal activities throughout the year. I've been their sole designer since 2017, working directly with their two-person marketing team on everything they need across print, digital and social.
Working for a heritage attraction brings particular responsibilities. Knebworth have a rich visual identity rooted in their heraldic badge and established colour palette. My job is to work within that respectfully, evolving things gradually where needed without ever straying too far from the character and heritage that makes the estate distinctive.
During the open season, which runs from March to October, I produce something almost every week. Brochures and educational materials for school visits, event-specific promotional pieces, local press advertising in multiple sizes and social media content across different formats and campaigns. The variety is part of what makes it such an enjoyable account to work on.
✎ Educational visits brochure
✎ Seasonal event materials
✎ Press advertising
Knebworth have a detailed illustrated map of the parkland that was commissioned as a specialist illustration. I take that artwork and turn it into usable formats: marking locations, creating the map leaflet and producing poster versions for use across the estate.
When new colours and fonts were introduced to the identity, I was asked to formalise these into a set of brand guidelines covering colour, typography and logo usage, giving the marketing team a clear reference to work from.
✎ Brand guidelines
I've also developed a suite of icons for use across their website, map and wayfinding, and a separate set for their holiday let cottages. And when the estate was developing a new food kiosk concept, I was briefed to create the branding, including naming suggestions. It was a great opportunity to show a more creative side of what I can do beyond the day-to-day production work.
✎ Map and holiday let icons
✎ Pizza and ice cream kiosk branding concepts
The outcome
Eight years in and still going strong. Knebworth is exactly the kind of account I love: varied, regular, fast-moving and rooted in a genuine long-term relationship with a marketing team who trust me to get on with it. During the busy open season there's rarely a week without something to work on, and the range of work keeps it genuinely interesting.
"We love working with you! Thank you for all your work this year, not sure what we would do without you!"
Charlotte Tsamados – Marketing & PR Manager, Knebworth House, Gardens & Park
