Compton Verney

The client

Compton Verney is a visual arts destination offering galleries, exhibitions and collections alongside 120 acres of grounds. Visitors can explore the house and its exhibitions as well as sculpture, woodland, gardens and other outdoor spaces, with a café, shop and activities for children also forming part of the experience.

The brief

Compton Verney asked us to create a visitor brochure that would introduce the destination to people unfamiliar with it and show why it was worth making the journey.

The challenge was to communicate everything there is to see and do without overwhelming the reader. The brochure also needed to attract attention alongside other visitor literature, be accessible and easy to navigate, and give people enough information to encourage them to find out more.

A photo of the North Londoner Magazine on a pallet in The Mailing People factory.

A mock-up of the North Londoner cover and internal spread on a dark blue background.

Our approach

We considered not just what the brochure needed to communicate, but where people would encounter it. From its presence in a busy leaflet rack to the information revealed once it was opened, the format and design were developed to encourage discovery while keeping a broad visitor offer clear and accessible.

Photo of the front cover and back cover of the compton verney brochure

Designed to be picked up

Sitting alongside other visitor literature meant the cover had an important job to do. We used a die-cut window to reveal just part of the image beneath, creating intrigue and giving people a reason to pick up the brochure and discover what was inside.

Accessible design

Accessibility was a specific requirement of the brief. Text needed to be a minimum of 12pt with high contrast against background colours, while a clear information hierarchy helped organise practical details including opening times, travel, facilities and ticket information.

Photo of an inside spread of the compton verney brochure.

Capturing the whole experience

Compton Verney offers more than its galleries and exhibitions, so the brochure needed to communicate the wider day out too. Art, nature, the house, grounds, café, shop and family activities were brought together to give unfamiliar visitors a clearer picture of what they could see and do.

Photo of the compton verney brochure stood up.

Evergreen brochure

The brochure was designed around evergreen content so it could be used again rather than being tied to a single exhibition programme. The annual exhibitions were kept within a dedicated centrefold that could be updated each year, while the core visitor information and overall design remained relevant.

A photo of the prospectus and admissions guide

Results & next steps

The finished A5 brochure combined evergreen visitor information with an annually updateable exhibition section, creating a practical piece for ongoing distribution. The die-cut cover gave the brochure a distinctive presence in leaflet racks while introducing the idea of discovery before the reader had even opened it.

From the die-cut window and accessible typography to the way information was structured across the pages, each design decision responded to how and where the brochure would be used. The result was a piece that could introduce Compton Verney clearly, encourage people to look closer and be updated for future exhibition programmes without redesigning the publication from scratch.

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Make your brochure work harder

A brochure has to work wherever your audience finds it. From the format and fold to the paper, finishing and way information is structured, we consider how every decision can support what the piece needs to do.

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