PEOPLE'S PARKFIELD
Giving a historic house an identity shaped by the local community
OUR WORK > PEOPLE'S PARKFIELD
Collaborative branding, community workshops and website design
People’s Parkfield is much more than a building.
Based within the historic Parkfield House in Paignton, it brings together young people, community groups, social enterprises and local organisations, creating a place where people can connect, learn and develop new opportunities.
The organisation had an exciting vision for the future, but it needed a brand and website capable of bringing that vision to life.
Most importantly, the identity couldn’t simply be created for the people using Parkfield House.
It needed to be created with them.
Through collaborative workshops with local young people, we developed a vibrant identity inspired by the history and character of the building itself. We then carried that story into a welcoming website that helps more people discover Parkfield, explore what’s happening and find their own way to become involved.
The result is a brand rooted in the past, shaped by the community and ready for the future.
The project at a glance
Client: People’s Parkfield CIC
Sector: Community development and social enterprise
Support: Brand strategy, community workshops, logo design, visual identity, brand guidelines and website design
Goal: Create an inclusive identity and online presence that celebrated Parkfield House, represented the wider community and gave young people a genuine voice in the process
A historic building with a new purpose
Parkfield House has been part of Paignton’s landscape for generations.
The Victorian villa, gardens and surrounding facilities hold more than two centuries of local history, but People’s Parkfield had an ambitious plan to give the site a renewed purpose.
Their vision was to transform Parkfield into a thriving community hub where young people, local organisations and community partners could come together.
The space would support activities, events and projects while offering meeting rooms, office space, gardens, a skatepark and a nationally recognised BMX track.
People’s Parkfield already had a powerful mission.
What it didn’t yet have was an identity capable of bringing all those different strands together.
The brand needed to acknowledge the history of Parkfield House while representing the energy, creativity and possibility of everything happening there now.
It also needed to feel welcoming to a broad community without losing sight of the young people at the heart of the organisation.
Inviting young people into the creative process
We were invited to tender for the branding and website project, and from our first conversations with the board, one priority stood out.
Young people needed to be directly involved in shaping the identity.
Rather than developing ideas behind closed doors and presenting a finished answer, we hosted two interactive logo workshops with young people who were actively engaged with Parkfield House.
The sessions gave them an opportunity to share their ideas, explore what the place meant to them and think about how its past, present and future could be represented visually.
This wasn’t participation for appearances’ sake.
Their perspectives became an important part of the creative process and directly influenced the identity that followed.
By listening to the people who knew and used the space, we could create something that felt authentic to Parkfield rather than simply applying a generic community brand.
Finding inspiration beneath our feet
One of the most distinctive sources of inspiration was already part of Parkfield House.
The original mosaic flooring in the hallway contained intricate shapes and patterns that connected the identity to the building’s history.
We took elements from those tiles and transformed them into bold, colourful and modern graphic forms.
These shapes became the foundation of the new logo and wider visual identity, giving the brand a story that could only belong to People’s Parkfield.
The interlocking blocks also reflected the many individuals, groups and organisations that come together within the space.
Each element has its own place and character, but it becomes more meaningful when connected to the others.
The result was a bright and flexible identity that honoured the heritage of Parkfield House without feeling old-fashioned or formal.
Its history hadn’t been preserved behind glass.
It had been given a new role in the future of the building.
Creating an identity people could feel part of
People’s Parkfield supports a wide range of organisations, activities and community projects, so the identity needed enough flexibility to represent them all.
It had to feel relevant to young people while remaining credible to community partners, stakeholders, organisations and potential funders.
The finished brand brings those different audiences together through colour, shape and a strong sense of connection.
It feels energetic and welcoming but still rooted in the history and purpose of the organisation.
Most importantly, it carries the fingerprints of the people involved in creating it.
The young people weren’t simply shown a new logo once the work was complete. Their ideas and experiences helped shape it from the beginning.
That gave People’s Parkfield an identity created by and for its community.
Building a website as welcoming as the space
The next step was to give the new identity a home online.
People’s Parkfield has many different stories to tell, from its history and vision to the organisations based there, facilities available and activities taking place.
The website needed to organise that information clearly without losing the energy and personality of the real place.
We designed a welcoming and easy-to-navigate website that introduces visitors to Parkfield House and helps them explore the different ways they can use, support or become involved with the organisation.
Professional photography and video created by John at Emberlense brought the people and spaces to life, helping online visitors get a genuine sense of what happens at Parkfield.
The site provides information about the organisations based there, upcoming events, workspaces, meeting rooms, volunteering opportunities, donations and community projects.
It also creates space for the heritage of the house, the gardens and food-growing initiatives, the skatepark and BMX track, showing the breadth of activity taking place across the site.
Allowing the website to grow with the community
A community organisation never stands still, so the website needed to develop alongside People’s Parkfield.
The What’s On area gives the team somewhere to promote upcoming activities, workshops and community events.
Room-booking information helps organisations and local businesses explore the spaces available, while clearer donation and volunteering routes make it easier for supporters to contribute.
The open-day video brings the atmosphere of Parkfield onto the homepage, showing people the range of groups, organisations and activities that form part of the community.
As new initiatives develop, the website can continue evolving with them.
Rather than becoming a static online brochure, it provides People’s Parkfield with a practical platform for sharing opportunities, celebrating progress and encouraging more people to step through the door.
What changed
An identity rooted in Parkfield’s story
The new brand takes its visual inspiration from the original mosaic flooring within Parkfield House, creating a meaningful connection between the building’s history and its future.
A community involved from the beginning
Young people were given a genuine voice through two collaborative workshops, helping create an identity that felt like something they could recognise and feel part of.
A clearer way to discover and support Parkfield
The website brings together events, facilities, organisations, volunteering, donations and community activities, making it easier for people to understand what Parkfield offers and how they can become involved.
A brand created with people, not simply for them
People’s Parkfield now has an identity that speaks to its history, its community and its ambitions for the future.
The colourful, interlocking shapes reflect the different people and organisations that come together beneath one roof, while the website gives them a shared platform from which to tell their stories.
More importantly, the project demonstrated what can happen when the people at the heart of an organisation are invited into the creative process.
Their voices helped shape an identity that belongs specifically to Parkfield and couldn’t simply have been lifted from somewhere else.
The result feels fitting for a place built around connection, creativity and belonging.
“We worked closely with Maggie and Mark, who held two logo design workshops involving young people who are actively engaged with Parkfield House. The logo design is crafted using a number of historical features and elements from within the house, but with a very modern and bright twist.”
Could your organisation’s story open more doors?
The most meaningful brands don’t simply look attractive.
They help people understand where an organisation has come from, what it stands for and how they can become part of what happens next.
If your organisation has a powerful purpose but its identity or website doesn’t yet bring that story to life, we can help you uncover the details that make it distinctive.
Together, we can create something that feels rooted in your history, relevant to your community and ready for whatever comes next.
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