Newhaven Fort is the largest work of defence ever built in Sussex and is the last of a long series of coastal defences built on the cliffs overlooking Seaford Bay, dating back to the Iron Age. The brief focused on the development of exhibitions, new signage and visitors front of house. We aimed to create the optimum product mix which can engage with and appeal to our prospective audience, within the budget available.
The visitors front of house begins as you enter the parade ground. For the ticket booth we went for a striking and eye catching dazzle graphics approach, reflecting the naval history. In the background you can see new signage above casemate entrances, directing the visitor to its many exhibits that border the parade ground. Within the parade ground there is a children's play area which we created a 15m by 2m mural photo montage of imagery assets from the forts archive. This creating a more inviting and playful feel to the playgrounds back drop.
We focused on 2 exhibition spaces, Casemate 5 that we title History of the Fort and Casemate 7 Life of the Fort. We opted for a more graphic panel approach alongside some show cases for props and supporting AV. The inspiration for the graphic approach come from the uniforms of the Victorian era such as the bold red and rich blue and details from the collars and cuffs of jackets. We have used this detail as a border to hold and structure the content on display. The addition of AV projection mapping gave a real lift to the space. As visitors walk around the exhibits they are drawn to the centre for an AV projection that pulls all of the surrounding content into one dynamic show. The barrack room set has props and furniture to evoke a Victorian barrack room. Graphics are introduced into the setting with small messages and labels as a "discovery trail".
