There’s no such thing as a silly question

WRITTEN BY: ALISON JOSHI, DIRECTOR OF JWJ DESIGN

What if I don’t like your ideas?

Between myself and the team, we’ve got around 50 years of design experience behind us — and in that time, this has only happened to me personally once or twice. We’ve built a working process, using mood boards and staged design development, specifically to avoid that. But if it ever does happen, we’ll work through it together until we’ve built something you and your team genuinely feel connected to.

What if I change my mind?

We ask plenty of questions at the start of a project to really understand what you’re looking for. Often farm parks come to us with a rough idea of what they want, and it’s only after a strategic conversation that the real brief takes shape. If you do change your mind along the way, we’ll go back to what we originally discussed to check whether the new direction still serves what you’re trying to achieve — and from there, have an honest conversation about amends and budget if needed.

Why work with a designer and not do it myself using AI?

Do you want a genuinely original piece of design, or something that looks like it could belong to any farm park, anywhere? Do you want to stand out from your competitors, not blend in with them? Do you need to communicate clearly what your site offers and the experience visitors will have? And do you want your brand to connect with people emotionally, not just visually?

AI tools can be useful for quick, low-stakes ideas, but they’re trained on what already exists, so they tend to produce safe, generic results rather than something distinctly you and your brand. A designer brings strategy, sector knowledge and an understanding of your visitors that AI simply can’t replicate — which is exactly what turns a nice-looking logo or campaign poster into something people remember and trust.

Is a rebrand going to require a lot of time from me and the team?

A rebrand does need some input from you and your team. You’ll be involved in a handful of meetings, part of the creative conversations, and asked for feedback at key stages. But we’re conscious that you’re running a busy attraction, not sitting behind a desk all day, so we keep that time as focused and efficient as possible; clear questions, structured feedback rounds, no open-ended back-and-forth that drags on.

And it pays off: by the end of the project, you’ll have a proper brand system and set of ready-to-use assets, which actually saves you time afterwards — every poster, social post and sign becomes quicker and easier to produce.

Do you work with third-party suppliers?

Yes, where a project calls for skills outside our own, we bring in trusted suppliers we already know and rate. This might be illustrators for bespoke site maps and imagery, copywriters to help craft a tone of voice or tagline, or printers and web developers. We have built up a vast network of businesses who are highly experienced in the visitor / attraction space.

How does payment work?

We usually ask for 50% upfront to help secure our time. And then the final 50% is paid on completion of the project. If a 33% payment schedule would suit your cash flow and bank balance – then we are happy to arrange that where possible.

What file formats do we get, and can we edit the design files ourselves afterwards?

You’ll get everything in the formats you actually need — print-ready files plus vector, png and jpeg files of your logo and brand.

If editing the design files is important then we can build Canva or Adobe Express templates that the team can access and amend when necessary. We mainly work in Indesign and Illustrator – so if your team have access to Adobe’s Creative Suite then we can also share the packaged files.

How many rounds of revisions are included?

In the design estimate we will always outline how many round of amends are included in the project fee. On average 2 rounds of amends are included – for bigger projects, like rebrands then we may include 3-4 rounds to ensure the final project is approved by everyone involved. If a project does need more amends than what was agreed, we’ll always talk it through before any extra costs are charged.

What happens once the rebrand project is finished?

For most sites, the rebrand is really just the beginning. Once you see the new brand on paper, it tends to surface all sorts of things across the site that need bringing into line — signage, menus, uniforms, social templates, the list goes on. We work with clients in two ways to make sure the roll-out is done properly and your investment isn’t wasted.

1. A monthly retainer. We become an extension of your team, designing and producing signage, Canva templates and seasonal campaigns as you need them. No job is too small — you get priority time in the studio schedule, plus we can check and advise on anything your own team is producing in-house.

2. Project by project. We work through the site gradually, tackling signage and other assets as and when you have the time and budget, at your own pace.

Why outsource when we have an inhouse designer?

An in-house designer is brilliant for the day-to-day – the poster that needs turning around by Friday, the quick social graphic, keeping things moving week to week. But for the big projects, like a rebrand or a genuinely new concept, it helps to bring in someone from outside.

Because we sit outside the business, we can ask “why” about things that have simply always been done a certain way — without the politics or habit that can make that harder to do from the inside. We’re not attached to any previous decisions, so we can be honest about what’s working and what isn’t.

We also work across a whole range of farm parks and visitor attractions, which means we’re constantly seeing what’s landing well — and what isn’t — across the sector. That gives us a broader perspective than any single in-house team can have on its own, and we bring those insights into your project rather than starting from scratch each time.

None of this replaces your in-house designer — if anything, the two of us work well together. We handle the strategic thinking and the bigger creative shifts; they keep the day-to-day assets ticking along and have someone else to bounce their thoughts with.

Do you visit our site?

Wherever possible, yes. This is a really important stage for us, as it’s a chance to experience the site first-hand — and to experience what you’re trying to communicate to your target visitor. It also means we can give you honest, critical feedback on signage and customer experience from someone outside the business.

If there’s anything else we’ve missed that you’d like to ask, email Alison at alison@jwjdesign.co.uk – she’ll be more than happy to help. As we said, there’s no such thing as a silly question.