HMWT Direct mail campaigns

The client

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust (HMWT) is a conservation charity dedicated to protecting wildlife and connecting people with nature. With over 40 nature reserves covering more than 1,900 acres, the Trust supports a community of 22,000 members alongside numerous volunteers across Hertfordshire and Middlesex.

The Graphic Design House has worked with the Trust for over a decade, designing, printing and mailing a wide range of materials, from its bi-annual magazine to fundraising appeal letters.

The brief

Throughout 2025, we were tasked with producing a series of fundraising and awareness mailings for HMWT. Each campaign needed to deliver clear messaging, strong visual impact and a seamless journey from creative development through to print and mailing.

A key requirement across every campaign was to maintain consistency and accuracy, while ensuring each mailing could flex to suit different themes and fundraising priorities.

3 posters mocked up showing the variety of designs for Gascoyne Estates

A mock-up showing the concepts that we put to Gascoyne Estates to refresh their campaign designs.

Our approach

We structured each campaign around clear storytelling, strong hierarchy and efficient production — designing every element to work together from first impression to response.

A mock-up showing the HMWT join us mailing.

Managing end-to-end delivery

We managed the process from initial concept and design through to final delivery and mailing, ensuring each campaign was planned and produced with consistency and attention to detail throughout.

A mock-up showing two mailings, the full colour envelope and the lead letter.

Lead-letter storytelling

Each pack opened with a lead letter positioned at the front to immediately engage the reader. The letter played a key storytelling role, outlining achievements since the previous campaign, highlighting current challenges and clearly setting out next steps and calls to action in an informative and emotive tone.

A mock-up showing the inside of the Woodland Appeal mailing for HMWT

Designing for response

Every mailing included a donation form designed to present required information in a concise, user-friendly format. These were part-personalised by The Mailing People, supporting accuracy and consistency while making them straightforward for supporters to complete.

A mock-up showing the join us mailing envelope for HMWT

Cohesive campaign design

Design treatments varied depending on campaign focus — from threatened species to rivers in crisis or woodlands in need of support — while maintaining an overall consistent look and feel. A limited selection from HMWT’s broad colour palette helped keep each mailing distinctive but cohesive, supported by strong typographic hierarchy, full-bleed imagery and well-judged white space. Clear iconography was used to present factual information in an engaging, easy-to-digest way, and envelope design was treated as part of the creative, from BRE formats to full-bleed, message-led executions that reinforced the campaign from the moment it landed.

“From initial designs to final delivery their communications, creativity and attention to detail are excellent… I would wholeheartedly recommend TGDH”

Debbie Bigg
Communications & PR Officer
Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust

Results

Across 2025, the mailings provided HMWT with a consistent and flexible campaign framework that supported both fundraising and awareness goals. By combining clear storytelling with structured design and production-ready outputs, each mailing was designed to engage supporters quickly, guide them through key information and encourage response.

Bring your publications together

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Create direct mail that
drives response

If your charity needs supporter mailings that combine strong storytelling with reliable production, we can help. From creative development and pack design to print and mailing, we deliver campaigns that feel cohesive, adapt to different appeals and guide supporters from first impression to action.

Let’s build mailings that connect with your audience and convert.

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