About Us

Creativity with a practical approach

Imagemakers is an award winning design agency, established in 1989 by Jane Sillifant, which was borne out of a life-long passion to bring history and nature to life. We love what we do and take a thoughtful, creative and practical approach to each project we work on. From concept to scheme sign off we combine creativity and practicality to overcome the toughest logistical and design challenges no matter the project size, subject matter or setting.

Our skills include:

Audience Development and Activity Planning
Interpretation planning and strategies
Concept design, 3D visualisation and spatial design
Audio-visual solutions (e.g. scripting, directing, filming, installation)
Digital media (e.g. websites, apps for tablets and smartphones)
Illustration
Interactives
Public art
Branding and identity
Signage and orientation
Technical drawings
Fabrication management (e.g. value engineering, factory checking, tender process management)

Heritage contexts

We work within a broad range of heritage contexts:

Museums and galleries
Historic buildings and monuments
Historic towns and cities
Protected landscapes and nature reserves
Parks and gardens
Places of worship
Industrial heritage sites
Canals and waterways
Visitor centres

Our clients

We work all across the UK, in Europe and in China. We deliver schemes for a wide range of clients including local government, national agencies, charitable organisations, partnerships, community initiatives and the private sector.

Upton Country Park (application for National Lottery funding granted 13.1.2020 – securing £1.9m of vital funding)

I wanted to pass on my personal thanks for your help and support. The Activity Plan and Action Plan really captures the potential that I think UCP has and it was so nice that someone else could see it and capture it so clearly. The document was really thorough and a great help in completing our submission.

–Roger Brewer, Upton Country Park Team Leader

National Tramway Museum

Imagemakers basically took our ideas for some interactives and made them into an affordable but fantastic reality!

–Jill Clark, Learn by Design

Gloucester Cathedral (National Award Winner)

The visit was taken to a new level by the high standard of interpretation, showing excellent best practice and with a consistent look and feel.

–Visit England review of Gloucester Cathedral interpretation, Nov 2018

Dawlish Warren Heritage Trail

Working with Imagemakers was a positive experience that has led to a high-quality outcome in delivery of a heritage trail with exceptional content, artwork and audio.

–Estelle Skinner, Green Infrastructure Officer, Teignbridge District Council

NMMC's British Tattoo Art Revealed exhibition

This show confounds expectations and explodes myths... It engages and inspires.

–Dr Jeannie Sinclair, Museums Journal

King Richard III Visitor Centre

Such brilliant Creative Directors for the King Richard III visitor centre. The superb results really speak for themselves.

–Sarah Levett, Director of Arts and Museums, Leicester City Council

Masters House and Grange Court

Professional and approachable, Imagemakers listen to, and work with, the community to help develop their interpretive ideas and designs.

–Hannah McSherry, Project Development Officer for two significant HLF projects, Herefordshire Council

The Tank Museum

Brilliant – no-one can know what Afghanistan is like if one had not experienced it but this exhibition helps us understand.

–Visitor feedback, Battlegroup, Afghanistan exhibition, The Tank Museum

Copper Kingdom Centre, Anglesey

This is Copper Kingdom Centre is a brilliant example of how exciting heritage can be. It's the best heritage centre or museum visit I've made in years.

–Tehmina Goskar, Independent Heritage Consultant and Historian

Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre

The interpretative elements look stunning and it was a pleasure to work with the Imagemakers team to achieve the Museum’s objectives.

–Claire Seymour, Museum Curator

Oates Museum

A dramatic transformation... it’s been an absolute pleasure working with you.

–Major General Patrick Cordingly DSO DSc FRGS

Lime & Ice, Sutton Bank

We were impressed by Imagemakers’ professionalism and enthusiasm for our project. We were particularly pleased with their design skills.

–Jennifer Smith, Project Officer, North Yorkshire Moors National Park Authority

How we work

Craftsmanship, local distinctiveness, sustainability, timely delivery and cost effectiveness are all critical elements of a successful project. We apply a range of research, consultation and creative techniques, including: qualitative and quantitative analyses, workshops, focus groups, brainstorming, formative evaluation and testing. Visitors are constantly exposed to technological innovations in their daily lives and have high expectations. Our creative thinking, combined with our knowledge of ever-changing, cutting-edge technology, adds interest and excitement, enabling your stories to be told in truly engaging ways.

Our People

Jane Sillifant

Proprietor

Jane established Imagemakers way back in 1989. Frustrated that so much of our past was being lost, Jane steered the company to spark a wider interest and passion in heritage. Her aim was to promote respect and long – term protection for future generations. Delivering great interpretation makes this possible.

David Revell

Creative Head

David joined Imagemakers in 2008 and works closely with both the in-house studio and project management teams to formulate pioneering interpretive solutions and striking visual designs. David has broad experience of creating innovative designs for a diverse client base having worked in a market spanning prominent public, private and commercial organisations. His specialist skills include art direction and implementation, concept design, brand identity, exhibition design, running creative workshops, team leadership and project

management.

Janette Hemingway

Finance & Project Development Manager

Janette joined Imagemakers in 2000 as an administrator. She now has full responsibility for the financial management and administration of the business. Her wealth of experience, garnered through an exciting 15-year career working in Bangladesh, the Ivory Coast and Austria with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and a year working for Noel Edmonds’ Unique Group, allows her to provide invaluable support to the new business team. She also handles many of our sub £25k projects.

Scott Alexander

Lead 3D Designer
Scott is an award-winning designer and producer with over nineteen years’ international experience, designing, developing and delivering projects across the events, entertainment and heritage sectors. Having extensive studio experience, coupled with considerable on-site work across Europe, North America, mainland China and many Gulf States, Scott’s experience is truly global.
Highlights include projects with: The British Museum, Gloucester Cathedral, Royal Ontario museum, The National Museum of Oman, Wuhan Civilisation Museum (China) and World of Discoveries (Portugal)

Charlie Curnow

Project & Production Manager
A highly experienced production & project manager, Charlie’s in-depth knowledge is drawn from more than 30 years’ design industry experience. He worked for high profile agencies including the Saatchi group, before entering the world of heritage interpretation. He provides technical design input whilst ensuring Imagemakers’ projects are executed efficiently: overseeing programming, cost control, procurement, contractor management and on-site works. Charlie’s also central to the new business side of Imagemakers, working with colleagues to prepare tenders.

Martin Liu

China Business Representative & Project Manager (China)

Martin joined Imagemakers in November 2013. Educated at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, Martin has Bachelor degree in Landscape Architecture Design. His career to date has taken him from landscape design and development in New Zealand to supervising landscape design and construction projects for real estate development companies in Changsha City, China. Martin helped our team project manage the design and development of Yanghu Wetlands Science Discovery Centre, Changsha. Today his main role is marketing development and project management in China.

Vikki Li

Project Assistant (China)

Vikki majored in Finance Management at Beijing Normal University. She joined Imagemakers in March 2017 and has become a vital part of the China team, assisting with content research, client liaison and high quality written and spoken translation in support of presentations and conference talks. Prior to joining Imagemakers Vikki gained extensive experience working in large-scale international science exhibitions within China.

Gavin Leech

Designer & Illustrator
Gavin joined Imagemakers back in 2001 after completing his BA (Hons) in Graphic Design & Illustration at the University of Suffolk. Gavin has played an important role in the company’s development ever since. Originally working on illustration and conceptual design, Gavin has broadened his talents significantly, by developing new skills in 3D modelling, design / build for web as well as mobile app user interface design.

David Masters

Lead Consultant
An HLF Mentor for Public Engagement with Heritage, David brings wide-ranging experience of interpretive planning, implementation, research and evaluation to Imagemakers. He has worked for clients throughout the UK, Europe, Africa, China and South America. A specialist interpretive planner, he has produced advisory and best practice guidelines for the Heritage Lottery Fund, delivered numerous workshops and presentations, and edited both Interpret Scotland and the Interpretation Journal. A member of Imagemakers’ Senior Management Team, David has led teams planning and delivering a wide range of local and national scale interpretation projects, and in 2013 was nominated as a Fellow of the Association for Heritage Interpretation.

Philip Songhurst

Project Manager
Phil joined Imagemakers in 2008 following an exciting and varied career path through education, leisure and tourism. He combines a lifetime’s passion for heritage and the environment with extensive practical and ‘people’ skills to efficiently manage a wide variety of interpretation projects. Phil holds a detailed working knowledge of job costings and programming, design materials, production methods and fabrication processes.

Matthew Jones

Project Manager / Creative Lead (China)

Matthew has been a central part of the Imagemakers team since 2000. He has extensive experience of interpretive planning, creative copy / script writing and community consultation. He also has a good knowledge of interpretive media, materials and the logistical aspects of project management and delivery. He enjoys the challenge of getting to grips with new stories and projects and places considerable emphasis on building positive working relationships with all his clients. Since 2015 Matthew has been working extensively on interpretive planning and conceptual design schemes in China.

Emma Delow

Freelance Project Manager

Emma has worked with Imagemakers since 2013. With a background in market and social research, Emma develops well thought through content and is motivated to seek out stories which will spark and hold the interest and attentions of visitors to museums and other heritage attractions. With an eye for detail and a methodical approach to everything she tackles, Emma works closely with clients and our design team to organise and oversee the creation of high-quality artwork.

Julie Zhao

Project Manager (China)

Julie is a graduate of the world-class Hunan University, from which she gained a BSc degree in Mechanical Design, Manufacturing and Automation. Julie joined Imagemakers in 2014, following a period of freelance project management support. Her attention to detail and understanding of technical matters has equipped her well for her role overseeing museum and visitor centre implementation projects and liaising with client design teams, architects, fabricators and exhibit designers.

Chris Mitchell

Designer & Illustrator
Chris has a wealth of experience across the design sector, covering conceptual two and three-dimensional design, museum galleries, exhibitions, models and graphics for exterior and interior environments. He is also an excellent illustrator, utilizing a diverse range of traditional and digital media to create visually inspiring images. His speciality is archaeological reconstruction, where he applies his flair for spatial design and visualisation to reimagining archaeological sites.

Ian Haswell

Project Manager/Exhibition Designer

Ian has spent over 20 years working in the cultural and museums sector and is experienced in interior, exhibition and graphic design. He has worked in managerial roles for a number of cultural institutions and consequently has a detailed knowledge of operational and logistical matters of collection display and care, staffing, visitor services and site management and brings this experience to each project.

Krystal Fanning

Graphic Designer

Krystal is a multidisciplinary designer with a passion for visual storytelling and heritage projects. After graduating from Falmouth University with a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design, Krystal worked for design agencies in the south west. Highlights include working with the National Trust to help them tell individual property stories. Her skill set includes brand identity, interpretation design, signage and digital design.

Deborah Hodson

Audience Development, Activity Plan and Interpretation
Consultant

With a BA in History and Archaeology and an MA in Museum Studies, Deborah has worked in the cultural and heritage sectors for over 25 years in the UK and Europe. Formerly Head of Engagement and Learning for a national museum group, she is a highly-experienced audience development and learning specialist, and has managed many successful HLF funding applications and their delivery. She has a wealth of experience engaging diverse audiences on a local and national level through strong
partnership working.

Awards

2013
Museums & Heritage Award Finalists
North York Moors National Park

2015
iDing National Design Award Winner
Yanghu Wetland Centre, Changsha, China

2015
Discover Heritage Commendation Award
King Richard III Visitor Centre

2015
Museums & Heritage Award Finalists
King Richard III Visitor Centre and Falkland Islands Museum

2017
Discover Heritage Award Finalists
Tank Museum and South Downs National Park

2019
Discover Heritage Award Winner
Gloucester Cathedral Project Pilgrim

Heritage Fund (HF) projects

We have a long-established experience of the Heritage Fund and a very strong track record of delivering successful HF funding applications. We are an HF Mentor for Public Engagement with Heritage, and have undertaken nearly 30 major grant application commissions resulting in grants of over £50 million to date.

We offer:

Activity Plans and Action Plans, reflecting our established focus on audience development, inclusion and well-being
Interpretation Plans and Strategies
HF Development Stage and Delivery Stage applications and mentoring support
Brand design for heritage sites and projects
Community engagement and consultation
Research and evaluation
Project delivery

Development Stage and Delivery Stage

We help to prepare Development Stage and Delivery Stage applications, supported by interpretation planning and design through RIBA Stages 1 to 3.

Delivery and best value

For RIBA Stages 4 to 7 we provide a comprehensive design and project management service to ensure your project is delivered on time, within budget and to the highest quality.

We work under both ‘design and mange’ and ‘design and build’ contracts, depending on the client’s preference. We competitively tender our suppliers to ensure best value and minimise the risk for our clients.

Imagemakers in China

We have been working in China since we were first invited to undertake a project in Xian in 2009. We bring our expertise in planning, design creativity and quality control to projects right across China. We also have a prestigious team of associates in diverse fields such as tourism, architectural design and archaeology.