Objective

Room 13 Hareclive is an inspiring creative studio where children lead artistic projects that make a real difference in their community.

As part of a public art engagement commission with the University of Bristol and Contemporary Art Society, the children created a series of short films exploring Bristol's rivers — why they matter, what's happening to them, and what they want adults to do to protect them.

My role was to design a poster campaign that would celebrate the launch of the films and encourage people across Bristol to stop, take notice and watch.

Approach

The campaign needed to feel bold enough to stand out on busy streets, while keeping the children's voices at the heart of the story.

I created a simple, striking composition centred around a panoramic photograph of the River Avon, paired with bold typography and the headline Rivers: A Race Against Time. A question — "Who will help the wild ones return?" — was handwritten by one of the children and adds a more personal, hopeful voice, inviting people to think differently about the rivers running through their own city.

The design was carefully considered for large-format billboards, balancing impact from a distance with details like a QR code that made it easy for people to discover the films.

Result

The campaign appeared on billboards across Bristol, helping launch the films to a much wider audience and giving the children's work a platform beyond their local community.

Seeing your work in print is always rewarding, but even more so when it's helping shine a light on a brilliant local organisation creating positive change. As someone who lives in South Bristol and cares deeply about protecting our rivers, it was a real privilege to play a small part in sharing this project with the city.

Watch the films here.