Glen Eira City Council
Caulfield Park — Interpretive Signage & Storytelling Design

Caulfield Park — Interpretive Signage & Storytelling Design

Award-finalist interpretive signage for Glen Eira City Council, bringing history, habitat, and storytelling to life at Caulfield Park.

Glen Eira City Council engaged We Are Purpose to design interpretive signage for Caulfield Park Lake — an iconic urban space undergoing environmental restoration. Through illustration-led storytelling, we created a signage system that invites visitors to connect with the park’s past, present, and ecological future.Glen Eira City Council engaged We Are Purpose to design interpretive signage for Caulfield Park Lake — an iconic urban space undergoing environmental restoration. Through illustration-led storytelling, we created a signage system that invites visitors to connect with the park’s past, present, and ecological future.

Services Provided

- Illustration
- Interpretive Signage Design
- Educational Storytelling
- Environmental Design

A bird perched on a tree branch with green leaves, a frog on the grass below, and cattails nearby.
Illustration of a pond scene with a water bird, dragonflies, cattails, and grasses.
Illustration of a dragonfly perched on a thin plant stem, with large green leaves and grass in the background.
Two Canada geese flying over a grassy area with rocks and cattails.
A blue dragonfly flying over a pond with cattails and lily pads.
An illustration of a turtle swimming underwater in a pond with lily pads, rocks, swaying grass, and a grassy bank in the background.

The Challenge

The Council wanted to share the rich history and biodiversity of Caulfield Park in a way that felt engaging and accessible for all visitors. The challenge was to balance heritage stories with ecological information, designing signage that was informative but also inviting, family-friendly, and visually striking in an outdoor environment.

The Approach

We developed the project through a strategy-led, craft-driven process — combining research, illustration, and design thinking.

Services Provided:

  • Illustration

  • Interpretive Signage Design

  • Educational Storytelling

  • Environmental Design

Our design team created vibrant, hand-drawn digital illustrations of native birds, aquatic life, and land animals. Each sign paired these illustrations with carefully written storytelling, presenting the park’s cultural history and environmental restoration in clear, engaging language. Layout, typography, and accessibility features were all considered to ensure the signs were easy to read and enjoy for audiences of all ages.

Educational sign about limited biodiversity in a lake ecosystem, displaying various birds, fish, and water plants, situated outdoors with trees and grass in the background.
Illustration of a black bird perched on a rock with a yellow flowering plant behind it and a small blue sign reading 'City of Glen Eira Glen Eira City Council'.

The Outcome

The final signage series transformed Caulfield Park into an outdoor classroom and storybook. Families, children, and everyday visitors are now invited to explore the park with fresh eyes — learning about its ecology, history, and future. The signs celebrate Glen Eira City Council’s commitment to rewilding and restoration, while inspiring a sense of community ownership and pride.

Recognition

The Caulfield Park signage was recognised as a finalist in the 2024 AGDA Design Awards, celebrating the project’s success in environmental graphics, illustration, and educational storytelling.

Illustration of a pond with waterfowl and reptiles. On the left, a large bird with black and white plumage perches on a branch, alongside a small frog near the water's edge. On the right, a duck with a colorful head swims in the pond, with another frog sitting on the ground nearby, and tall grasses around the pond.
Digital illustration of a pond scene with flying geese, a mallard duck in the water, and other waterfowl near tall grass and trees.
Informational poster titled 'Welcoming native Australian flora and fauna,' featuring illustrations of native Australian animals including a black-backed magpie, a dusky moorhen, a grey butcherbird, a dragonfly, and a damselfly by a pond with a frog and reeds; also contains text about local wildlife and conservation efforts.
Illustration of a dragonfly perched on cattail plant near a pond, with another dragonfly flying above the water, and a black bird with a red beak standing by the pond's edge.

Bring Places to Life Through Storytelling

We create interpretive signage and environmental graphics that educate, inspire, and connect communities.

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