National Museum of the Royal Navy: Eliza's Adventure History Trail
Richard Davidson (Illustrator and Learning Producer at the NMRN) with Abby Taylor, pictured with trail guide they produced, “Eliza’s Adventure”.
I was approached by The National Museum of the Royal Navy in Hartlepool, to help them create a unique self-led trail of the HMS Trincomalee. The trail incorporates authentic diary entries of Eliza Bunt, who travelled on the first voyage from Sri Lanka to England with her children and pet parrot, Poll, who will act as a mascot and guide for the trail. Poll also takes the form of a promotional plush toy to be sold at the museum.
I worked with Richard Davidson, the Learning Producer at NMRN, and a talented traditional illustrator. We worked together creating the content of the trail, using quotes from Eliza’s diary to paint a picture of what it was like onboard HMS Trincomalee. Richard drew the illustrations by hand using markers and pencils. I then edited these drawings and took care of the design, layout and typesetting, to create a fun and engaging trail guide.
A selection of original drawings by Richard Davidson, Illustrator and Learning Producer at the National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool
Vegas the parrot with ‘Poll’ promotional plush and Eliza’s Adventure trail at the National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool
“It was a pleasure working with Abby. She was patient, helpful and encouraging throughout the project. I am really happy with how the trail turned out”
“The National Museum were delighted to work with local designer, Abby Taylor on our new self-led trail brochure. She immediately picked up on what we were trying to achieve and had huge patience with us and our many alterations on the road to achieving the perfect outcome. We were inspired by her enthusiasm and commitment to the project and will certainly be using her services again.
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