Restoring the Great Marsh:
Ashtead Rye Meadows Wetlands
PROJECT TYPE
Editorial Design
TOOLS
Adobe Id, Psd, Lr
BRIEF
The Ashtead Rye Meadows Trust were preparing to publish a book on the history of Ashtead Rye Meadows as part of their ongoing community work. I was initially involved as a volunteer consultant on their logo and website, and following this they commissioned me to design the layout and overall look of the book. The project required me to collaborate with illustrator Cathy Brett, who provided the cover artwork and illustrations, while I was responsible for the full editorial and layout design.
KEY CHALLENGES
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Maintaining historical accuracy and clarity while keeping the content engaging
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Designing layouts that complemented Cathy Brett’s illustration style
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Creating a clear hierarchy and flow for the varied content (text, images, captions, timelines)
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Managing practical print and production constraints such as margins, bleed, and pagination
The book was produced as a hardbound edition with 188 pages plus custom-designed endpapers, which required careful attention to layout consistency, binding allowances, and print specifications.
A clean, structured layout was developed to balance historical text, archival photographs, and Cathy Brett’s illustrations, with a clear typographic hierarchy that ensured both readability and elegance. Chapter openers and section dividers were styled to echo the illustrative motifs, tying the visuals together into a cohesive identity. The content was organised to flow chronologically, with captions, pull-quotes, and image placements breaking up longer passages to keep the reader engaged.
The book was launched on 21 Nov 2021 and is now available to buy from the trust's website: www.ryemeadows.org.uk
