Bright Trails, Bigger Visits: Bringing Stories to Life at the National Wool Museum
In an age of digital distractions and academic pressures, museums offer something refreshingly different: a chance to explore, reflect and create. Engaging young audiences requires thoughtful programming, inclusive design and a deep understanding of what young people need.
That’s where we can step in, just as we did when we were commissioned by the National Wool Museum, part of the National Museum of Wales, to create a family-friendly trail, complete with interpretation boards and signage.
About the Museum of Wales
The Museum of Wales has national collections covering art, archaeology, natural sciences, industry and social history.
The Museum of Wales isn’t a single building – it’s the collective name for Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, a national network of seven major museums plus a national collection service. Together they cover Welsh art, history, industry, archaeology and natural sciences.
Museum Wales is a national group of free-to-enter museums, each with its own specialism, spread across Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and West Wales.
The National Wool Museum asked Colour Heroes to create a family trail with interpretation boards to encourage their visitors to explore the site’s Meadow Trail and Dye Garden. It was also crucial to align with the National Museum of Wales’ brand guidelines and that the resources were dual language: Welsh and English, to suit the museum’s target audience.
At the very heart of Colour Heroes is the importance of children’s development, as they naturally want to learn, have fun and explore. We are passionate about these key aspects of development and creating family-friendly interpretation to promote learning through museums, by making exhibits more approachable and interactive for young audiences, is their speciality.
Our experienced team can support museum educators by:
Creating tailored resources that align with a museum’s tone, brand and educational goals
Collaborating with curators, educators and visitor services to ensure materials are accurate and engaging
Designing inclusive trails and guidebooks that help children explore museum spaces independently or with family
Kathryn Fairweather, Senior Graphic Design Manager, explains the process:
“Collaborating closely with the museum team, we produced a six-page trail sheet filled with educational content, fun facts and highlights of the Meadow Trail where visitors can see and learn about the wool-making process. The client chose a realistic illustration style which brings the wildlife and facts to life, ensuring children are engaged with the items they are looking for on the trail. The outcome is a fresh, vibrant and engaging trail for children of all ages. We strive to bring our clients’ attractions to life for families, transforming visits into memorable experiences and encouraging repeat visits.
“We loved working on this project and were delighted to receive the below testimonial from Kate.”
We have worked with Colour Heroes on several projects at the National Wool Museum, which is part of Amgueddfa Cymru, including the Woolly Tale Trail, our meadow interpretation and natural dye garden signage. They have always been a pleasure to work with and consistently deliver work to a very high standard.
Colour Heroes took the time to understand what we wanted to achieve, listened to our ideas, and worked collaboratively with us throughout our bilingual projects. The team have always been responsive, approachable, and accommodating, particularly when changes have been needed during the design process.
We have received lovely feedback from visitors about the interpretation, with many families commenting on how bright, engaging, and welcoming it is. Working with Colour Heroes across several projects has also helped us achieve a consistent look and feel across the museum’s interpretation and signage.
We would happily recommend Colour Heroes to other museums and heritage organisations looking for creative, thoughtful, and high-quality interpretation design. Diolch to the whole team for all their support.”
Kate Evans, National Wool Museum Senior Learning & Engagement Officer
We have 25 years’ experience learning about what families expect from their day out. We will work with you to create high-quality, striking, educational and affordable children’s visitor resources to engage families during their visit to museums. Our complete service includes original and fun concepts to exciting, colourful, printed resources ready to introduce to your family audience and includes activity packs, illustrated maps, engaging trails, retail books, guides and tabletop activities.
Find out more about how we can enhance your visitor experience with family resources. To schedule an appointment, please call us on 01347 824 459 or email our friendly team at info@colourheroes.com.