Project Overview
The Orchard Way is a community-focused initiative designed to bring biodiversity back into everyday spaces across Ireland. It combines the planting of small, pollinator-friendly orchards with a wider network of heritage apple trees distributed across gardens, schools, shared green areas, and community spaces.
The brochure needed to communicate this programme to prospective partners, community groups, and local authorities — including county councils — while also functioning as a digital flip-book PDF suitable for email distribution.
Designwest produced a 16-page A4 landscape publication covering the full programme narrative: the living network concept, conservation and community alignment, the dispersed orchard approach, how projects come together on the ground, stewardship and shared ownership, community learning, and the long-term vision.
The Client & Context
Irish Seed Savers Association is based in Scarriff, County Clare, and is one of Ireland’s most respected food heritage organisations. Their tagline — Protecting Ireland’s food crop heritage for future generations — captures the work precisely. The organisation maintains and propagates heritage apple varieties and other native food crops that would otherwise be lost.
The Orchard Way programme extends that conservation mission into communities. Rather than holding heritage varieties in a single collection, the programme distributes them across multiple locations — gardens, school grounds, public green spaces, town parks — creating what the publication describes as a living network of orchard habitats. Each tree planted becomes part of a wider ecological system that supports pollinators, encourages wildlife movement, and rebuilds connections that have been lost over decades of land use change.
The programme is national in scope. It targets both urban and suburban environments and is designed to be replicable across neighbourhoods and towns throughout Ireland. The brochure was produced for use with prospective partners and county councils as well as community organisations, schools, and individuals interested in participating.
The Brief
The brief required Designwest to design a presentation brochure that would:
- Communicate the Orchard Way programme clearly and compellingly to a range of audiences
- Work as a printed physical document for partner meetings and county council presentations
- Work equally well as a digital flip-book PDF for email distribution
- Feature The Orchard Way logo — designed by Designwest as a standalone project identity tied to but distinct from the existing ISSA logo
- Use photography showing people — children, families, community groups — in realistic outdoor settings that helped readers visualise the programme in practice
- Carry strong botanical and orchard imagery throughout, using both vintage-style illustrative elements and contemporary photography
- Maintain high readability at A4 landscape format, with text sizes appropriate for a document that needed to work both on screen and in print
The final brochure was produced at 16 pages, A4 landscape, saddle-stitched for print and exported as a high-quality flip-book PDF for digital distribution.
The Challenge
A brochure for a programme like The Orchard Way sits at an interesting intersection of audiences. Community members need warmth and accessibility. County councils and potential funders need clarity and credibility. Both need to see the same document and come away with confidence.
Getting the balance right across those audiences required careful thinking about tone, hierarchy, and visual language throughout.
The logo design challenge. Before the brochure could be designed, Designwest needed to create The Orchard Way project identity. The client required a logo that worked as a standalone project mark while remaining clearly connected to the ISSA parent brand. The resulting circular badge — a heritage apple tree with exposed roots, set in the characteristic ISSA organic illustration style, in a strong moss green — achieves both. It reads independently as The Orchard Way while carrying the same hand-crafted, heritage character of the ISSA visual language.
A four-colour system across backgrounds. The brochure uses four distinct background treatments across its sixteen pages: a natural linen-effect cream for the cover and back; deep forest green for the conservation and community sections; warm brown for the stewardship and dispersed orchard sections; and a dark photographic treatment for the Looking Ahead closing spread. Each needed its own typographic and colour approach while remaining part of a coherent document.
Text legibility on photographic backgrounds. The closing “Looking Ahead” spread uses a full-bleed photograph as the background with body text laid over it. An early version made the text difficult to read. A solid colour block was placed behind the copy to ensure the text reads cleanly against the image without disrupting the visual atmosphere of the spread.
Showing the programme in practice. An early direction for the photography leaned heavily on product-style apple imagery. The brief was updated to prioritise images of people — children planting, families in orchards, community groups at work — to help prospective partners and community members see themselves in the programme. This shift in image direction significantly strengthened the publication’s ability to communicate participation and possibility alongside ecological content.
Our Design Approach
Designwest’s approach to this brochure began with the identity. The Orchard Way logo was developed first, establishing the visual language that the entire publication would then carry.
The circular badge format connects directly to the ISSA aesthetic — organic, rooted, hand-crafted — while the apple tree icon, with its exposed root system and characteristic winding path leading to the horizon, gives the mark a specific narrative quality. This is not simply a tree. It is a connected landscape: roots, ground, pathway, sky. The imagery reflects the programme itself.
With the identity established, the brochure was structured to follow the programme’s own logic: from concept to conservation context, from approach to process, from community participation to long-term vision. Each section follows the reader forward through the story without ever feeling like a formal document. The publication reads more like a considered proposal than a standard organisational brochure.
The decision to produce at A4 landscape was deliberate. Landscape format gives each spread the horizontal breathing room needed for the large botanical and orchard photography, while the two-page spread structure allows for a strong left-right image-text rhythm throughout the document.
Design Rationale & Visual Decisions
The Orchard Way Logo
The logo uses a circular badge format in a deep, warm moss green — a considered choice. It reads as natural and grounded without defaulting to the clichéd bright greens that dominate environmental and community sector design. Within the circle, the white illustrative mark features a branching apple tree with visible root structure, small apples, a meandering path, and rolling hills in the background.
The logotype uses a mix of serif and hand-drawn letterforms — “The” and “Way” in a lighter, slightly informal weight; “Orchard” in a more substantial display treatment that gives the programme name its own presence. Together they feel like something found on a heritage seed packet or a well-worn country signpost, which is precisely the register the client needed.
The logo appears in three treatments across the brochure: the primary full-colour green badge on cream backgrounds; a brown version on the warm earthy section backgrounds; and an outline white version on dark and photographic backgrounds — ensuring the identity remains consistently present regardless of page colour.
Colour
The four background colours carry distinct emotional registers that map cleanly to the content they contain.
The cream/linen of the cover and back reads as natural, traditional, and approachable. It suits the botanical illustration and the heritage character of both the programme and the ISSA brand.
The deep forest green of the Living Network and Conservation sections reads as authoritative and ecologically grounded. It gives the programme’s scientific and conservation credentials appropriate weight without feeling institutional.
The warm brown of the biodiversity, stewardship, and dispersed orchard sections reads as earthy and community-rooted. It carries warmth without losing seriousness and provides clear visual differentiation from the green sections.
The dark photographic treatment of the closing Looking Ahead spread is deliberately cinematic. It signals that the document is drawing to a close and sets a contemplative, aspirational tone for the vision statement.
Typography
The brochure uses a dual-weight heading approach throughout: section headings use two typefaces in contrast — a bold, rounded slab-serif for the primary word and a lighter companion for the secondary words — in two colours (white/cream and the salmon-pink accent). This treatment gives every heading a sense of movement and interest without requiring complex layout. It reads immediately across all four background colours.
Body text is set in a clean, humanist sans-serif that maintains legibility across the document at the sizes required for both print and on-screen reading. Text size was increased during the production process in response to client feedback to ensure comfortable reading at A4 scale — a practical but important detail in a document designed for audiences spanning community members to council officers.
Imagery
Practical Application
The brochure functions across two distinct contexts. As a printed document, it is A4 landscape, 16 pages, saddle-stitched — compact enough to post, substantial enough to sit credibly in a meeting. As a digital flip-book PDF, the landscape format suits screen presentation naturally, with the spread-by-spread structure working well as a document shared via email with prospective county council and community partners.
Final Outcome & Applications
The completed Orchard Way brochure was delivered by Designwest in May 2026, with final artwork and print-ready files prepared by Sam Roscoe — one of Designwest’s most experienced editorial and brochure designers — following a collaborative refinement process with the ISSA team.
The brochure is in use by Irish Seed Savers Association for partner engagement, county council presentations, and community outreach across Ireland. It is distributed both as a physical printed document and as a digital flip-book PDF via email.
The Orchard Way logo, developed as part of this project, now serves as the standalone programme identity across all communications for the Community and Dispersed Heritage Orchard Programme.
Why Choose Designwest for Brochure Design in Ireland
A programme like The Orchard Way needs more than a well-laid-out document. It needs a publication that carries the right authority for institutional audiences, the right warmth for community audiences, and the right visual coherence to function as a brand asset as well as an information tool.
Designwest has over 30 years of experience designing brochures and publications for Irish community organisations, heritage bodies, environmental groups, government departments, and national agencies. That experience shows in how the team approaches a brief: starting with the audience, working through the identity and structure, and producing something that functions perfectly in every format it needs to occupy.
For organisations across Ireland working on community programmes, heritage initiatives, environmental projects, or any publication that needs to communicate to multiple audiences simultaneously, Designwest delivers results that last.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is brochure design?
Brochure design is the process of creating a printed or digital publication that communicates an organisation’s services, programmes, or identity. It involves decisions about layout, typography, colour, imagery, and hierarchy to produce a document that is both legible and visually coherent. A well-designed brochure works as a marketing tool, a presentation document, and a brand asset simultaneously.
What is included in a brochure design project?
A typical brochure design project includes initial concept development, page layout, typography selection, image integration, logo placement, colour system development, and production of print-ready and digital-format files. For projects like The Orchard Way, it may also include logo design and brand identity development as a precursor to the publication layout.
How much does brochure design cost in Ireland?
Brochure design costs depend on the number of pages, the complexity of content, whether logo or identity work is included, and the formats required (print, digital, or both). Designwest provides clear project-specific quotes. Contact info@designwest.ie or call 094 938 2000 to discuss your project.
How long does a brochure design project take?
A 16-page publication with identity development, multiple photography rounds, and client review typically takes four to six weeks from confirmed brief to final artwork. Simpler brochure projects can be turned around in two to three weeks. Designwest advises on realistic timelines at the start of each project.
Can Designwest design both print and digital versions of a brochure?
Yes. Designwest regularly produces publications in both print-ready PDF format (for commercial printing) and digital flip-book or screen-optimised PDF format for email distribution and online use. The Orchard Way brochure was produced in both formats.
What is a flip-book PDF?
A flip-book PDF is a digital document formatted to simulate the experience of a physical publication, with page-turn effects and a spread-based layout suited to on-screen reading. It is commonly used for email distribution of brochures, annual reports, and programme documents. Designwest produces both standard PDFs and flip-book formatted versions.
What is Irish Seed Savers Association?
Irish Seed Savers Association is a non-profit organisation based in Scarriff, County Clare, dedicated to protecting Ireland’s food crop heritage. The organisation maintains and propagates heritage apple varieties, vegetables, and other native food crops, and works to make that heritage accessible to communities across Ireland.
What is The Orchard Way programme?
The Orchard Way is the Irish Seed Savers Association’s Community and Dispersed Heritage Orchard Programme. It aims to create a living network of community-managed orchard habitats across Ireland by planting heritage apple trees in gardens, schools, parks, and shared green areas. The dispersed model creates continuous pathways for pollinators and helps rebuild ecological connections across urban and suburban landscapes.
What is a heritage apple variety?
A heritage apple variety is a traditional cultivar that has been grown and maintained over many generations, often predating the commercial apple industry. Ireland has its own native heritage apple varieties — many of which are held by Irish Seed Savers Association — that carry distinct flavours, disease resistance, and ecological value. These varieties are often not available commercially and require active conservation to survive.
What is the dispersed orchard model?
The dispersed orchard model distributes heritage apple trees across multiple locations rather than concentrating them in a single site. Trees are planted in gardens, schools, community spaces, and public parks, creating a connected network of habitats that supports pollinators and wildlife movement across the broader landscape. This model encourages wider community participation and makes the conservation effort more resilient.
Why are pollinators important to orchard programmes?
Pollinators — including bees, hoverflies, and butterflies — are essential to fruit tree pollination. Without pollinator populations, orchard trees cannot set fruit effectively. Orchard habitats in turn support pollinators by providing early blossom (a critical food source when pollinators emerge in spring) and chemical-free management that keeps those habitats safe. The Orchard Way explicitly designs planting to support pollinator connectivity between sites.
How does The Orchard Way connect to biodiversity?
Each orchard planted creates new habitat for pollinators, nesting birds, and other wildlife. As orchards establish and wildflowers, hedging, and natural features are added, species diversity increases. The dispersed model creates ecological corridors across urban and suburban environments, helping reconnect fragmented habitats that have been separated by development and intensive land management.
Can schools get involved in the Orchard Way programme?
Yes. Schools are explicitly identified as suitable planting locations within The Orchard Way programme. Orchards planted in school grounds provide educational opportunities around biodiversity, food heritage, seasonal change, and ecological monitoring, as well as practical skills in planting and maintenance.
What is citizen science in the context of an orchard programme?
Citizen science refers to the collection of ecological data by non-specialist community members. In The Orchard Way context, participants are encouraged to observe and record pollinator activity, seasonal changes, and species diversity in their orchards. This data contributes to wider biodiversity monitoring while also deepening community members’ connection to and understanding of their local environment.
What is grafting and why does it matter for heritage apples?
Grafting is a technique for propagating fruit trees by joining a cutting from one tree to the rootstock of another. It is the standard method for reproducing heritage apple varieties true to type, since apples grown from seed produce genetically unique offspring. Teaching grafting skills within communities ensures that heritage varieties can be propagated locally, maintaining genetic diversity without dependence on commercial nurseries.
What is stewardship in the context of community orchards?
Stewardship refers to the local, community-based management of an orchard over the long term. The Orchard Way programme establishes local stewardship groups for each orchard, supported by simple maintenance plans and seasonal activities. Stewardship skills — pruning, grafting, ecological management — are shared across generations within the community to ensure knowledge persists independently of any single individual or organisation.
Can county councils partner with The Orchard Way programme?
Yes. The Orchard Way brochure was specifically produced for partner engagement with county councils across Ireland. Local authorities can support the programme by identifying suitable planting sites in public green spaces, parks, and shared amenity areas, and by facilitating community access to those sites for planting and maintenance.
Does Designwest work with not-for-profit and community organisations?
Yes. Designwest has extensive experience working with community organisations, environmental bodies, heritage groups, and not-for-profit clients across Ireland. Understanding the mission and audiences of these organisations is a core part of the design process.
What makes a good programme brochure?
A good programme brochure communicates clearly to multiple audiences simultaneously, functions as both a marketing tool and an informational document, reflects the organisation’s identity and values, and works reliably in every format it is distributed in. It should reward both a quick skim and a careful read, and it should leave the reader with a clear sense of what the programme is, why it matters, and how to get involved.
Can Designwest design a logo and a brochure as a combined project?
Yes. Designwest frequently combines identity design and publication design within a single project brief, particularly where a new programme or initiative requires both a mark and a presentation document. Developing the identity first ensures the publication carries a consistent and purposeful visual language throughout.
How does landscape format differ from portrait for brochure design?
A landscape format (wider than tall) suits publications with strong horizontal photography, spread-based reading patterns, and content that benefits from side-by-side visual and text layout. It works well for programme presentations, heritage publications, and documents that will be viewed on screen as well as printed. The Orchard Way brochure uses A4 landscape to give the orchard photography the horizontal space it requires and to suit the flip-book digital format.
What is print-ready artwork?
Print-ready artwork is a PDF file prepared to the specification required for commercial printing — typically including bleed (extra artwork beyond the trim edge), crop marks (guides for the trimmer), embedded fonts, and the correct colour profile (CMYK for offset printing). Designwest delivers all brochure projects with print-ready files to the required specification.
Can a brochure be designed for both digital and print use simultaneously?
Yes. Designing for both from the outset requires attention to colour mode, typography sizes, and image resolution across both output types. Designwest produces files optimised for each use case — a high-resolution CMYK print PDF and a screen-optimised RGB digital version — as standard on projects requiring both.
How does good design help a community programme like The Orchard Way?
A well-designed brochure gives a community programme credibility with institutional partners, clarity for community participants, and lasting utility as a reference document. It also reflects the care and seriousness with which the programme has been developed. For a programme like The Orchard Way, which depends on building trust with county councils, schools, landowners, and community members simultaneously, the quality of the design directly affects whether those conversations succeed.
Does Designwest design brochures for environmental and heritage organisations nationwide?
Yes. Designwest works with clients across Ireland on brochure and publication design for environmental, heritage, community, public sector, and not-for-profit organisations. The team has particular experience with programmes that need to communicate complex content to diverse audiences in a visually compelling and accessible way.
How do I start a brochure design project with Designwest?
Contact the team at info@designwest.ie or call 094 938 2000 (Mayo) or 01 699 1777 (Dublin). A brief initial conversation about your project scope, audience, format requirements, and timeline is all that is needed to begin. Designwest will follow up with a detailed proposal and recommended approach.
What file formats does Designwest provide on completion of a brochure project?
Standard deliverables include a print-ready PDF to commercial print specification and a digital PDF for screen or email distribution. Original working files can also be provided. For projects with a digital flip-book requirement, the PDF is exported to the appropriate specification for the intended platform.
Can a brochure design be adapted for use across multiple formats beyond print?
Yes. A brochure designed with digital use in mind from the outset can be adapted for social media graphics, email header images, presentation slides, and website assets without requiring a complete redesign. Designwest considers downstream format use during the initial design process where relevant.
Call to Action
Working on a programme brochure, presentation document, or community publication? Designwest delivers thoughtful print and digital design that helps organisations communicate with clarity and confidence. Get in touch with the team to create a publication that leaves a lasting impression.
Contact the team at info@designwest.ie, call the Mayo office on 094 938 2000, or the Dublin office on 01 699 1777. Find out more about our brochure design services.
Declan Foley is an Irish Creative Director with over 30 years of experience in graphic design, branding, print, and digital media. As Creative Director of Designwest Creatives Ltd, he leads design projects for Irish businesses, government departments, and organisations nationwide — from brand identity and publication design to large-scale print campaigns. Explore the portfolio at designwest.ie.
We recently completed the brochure design for The Orchard Way — the Community and Dispersed Heritage Orchard Programme from Irish Seed Savers Association.
The publication covers the full programme narrative across 16 pages of A4 landscape, produced for both print and digital distribution. The project also included the development of a standalone Orchard Way logo, designed to work independently while remaining connected to the ISSA parent identity.
A programme worth knowing about, and a brochure built to open doors with county councils and communities alike.
#BrochureDesign #PublicationDesign #IrishDesign #DesignwestIreland #IrishSeedSavers #HeritageOrchard #GraphicDesignIreland
Designwest recently completed the brochure for The Orchard Way — Irish Seed Savers Association’s programme to restore heritage orchards in communities across Ireland.
A 16-page A4 landscape publication, produced for print and digital use, along with a new standalone project logo. Good work on a genuinely worthwhile programme.
See more at designwest.ie.
#Designwest #IrishDesign #IrishSeedSavers #BrochureDesign #HeritageOrchard
Heritage orchards. Community spaces. A programme designed to bring both back to everyday life across Ireland.
Designwest designed the brochure and project identity for The Orchard Way — Irish Seed Savers Association’s Community and Dispersed Heritage Orchard Programme. 16 pages, A4 landscape, print and digital.
Full project at designwest.ie — link in bio.
#graphicdesign #irishdesign #brochuredesign #publicationdesign #printdesign #editorialdesign #designireland #designwestireland #irishseedsavers #heritageorchard #biodiversity #communitydesign #irishheritage #sustainableireland #ireland
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Designwest designed the presentation brochure and project logo for The Orchard Way, the Community and Dispersed Heritage Orchard Programme from Irish Seed Savers Association. The project produced a 16-page A4 landscape publication for both print and digital distribution, used by Irish Seed Savers for community and county council partner engagement across Ireland. For brochure design and publication design in Ireland, contact Designwest at info@designwest.ie or call 094 938 2000.
