Designer

Working within the Audience & Experience team, we’re looking for a highly organised, user-focused designer responsible for wayfinding, signage and communications across the Somerset House site. This is a 6-month FTC role for a designer who combines graphic design skills with user-centred thinking. Ensuring information is visually consistent, on brand, clear, accessible and considering user experience within the design process. You will consider not only how something looks, but how it works. Understanding design within the context of visitor journeys, information hierarchy, sightlines, readability and the wider environment to make navigation as intuitive as possible. You will work closely with the wider Audience & Experience team and other onsite teams, such as commercial and exhibitions, to deliver clear, practical and effective designs onsite for Somerset House.

What we are looking for

Wayfinding & Signage
Work within Somerset House’s existing brand guidelines to deliver clear and consistent wayfinding and signage across the site. Consider the visitor journey, from arrival through to navigating buildings, exhibitions, events, facilities and public spaces. Identify gaps or points of confusion within existing visitor journeys and develop targeted signage solutions to address them. Balance functional visitor information with Somerset House’s brand and visual identity. Support the strategic delivery of a new wayfinding system that helps visitors navigate a complex site, applying information hierarchy to ensure new system works intuitively and alongside existing systems.
Audience & User-Centred Design
Apply audience-first thinking to onsite signage ensuring information is clear, accessible and easy to navigate. Design considering the visitor journey, readability, branding, message hierarchy, accessibility and audience familiarity with the site. Translate requirements from multiple stakeholders into clear, user-focused design solutions ensuring complex information is simple and intuitive. Confidently explain the logic and rationale behind wayfinding and design decisions. Develop and propose effective placements based on visitor decision points, sightlines, viewing distances, scale and the physical environment. Maintain consistency across permanent, temporary and campaign-led onsite communications.
Print Design & Production Produce creative assets for: Wayfinding signage, Maps and directories, Visitor information and interpretation, Posters and onsite promotional materials. Prepare accurate artwork and final files for print production with attention to detail across artwork, typography, measurements and production. Manage the process to ensure designs are accurately produced and installed. Work with printers, signage suppliers and fabricators where required. Support onsite reviews and testing to understand how designs work within the physical environment.
Collaboration & Workflow
Work collaboratively with Marketing, Visitor Experience, Estates and other onsite teams to understand visitor and operational requirements. Project management across multiple concurrent briefs, priorities and deadlines to ensure creative is delivered accurately, efficiently and on schedule. Support the development and maintenance of wayfinding templates and systems that can be efficiently updated and reused. Manage versions, formats across different locations and applications.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Experience :
- Strong portfolio demonstrating wayfinding, signage, information design, environmental graphics.
- With a proven understanding of user-centred design and designing for physical environments including the ability to simplify complex information and create clear, logical visual systems.
- Experience working in signage design within a cultural venue, museum, gallery, visitor attraction, heritage site or other complex public environment designing maps, directories or other orientation tools is desirable.
- Confidence in explaining design decisions based on user needs and wayfinding logic.

Skills :
- Strong print design and production experience, working with established brand systems and templates. Including: typographic and layout skills, problem-solving ability.
- Advanced experience in Adobe Creative Suite, particularly: InDesign
- Illustrator
- Photoshop

- User-centred approach to design and the ability to understand how design functions within a physical environment.
- Excellent organisational and project management skills with proven experience in managing multiple briefs and deadlines, stakeholder management, accuracy and attention to detail.

Benefits

Mental Health & Wellbeing - Access to our external Employee Assistance Programme (CiC) for free 24/7 confidential advice and support, including up to 6 free counselling sessions per year where needed - Mental health support and guidance from our in-house trained Mental Health First Aiders - Hybrid working based on having 3 days in the office per week (pro rata if part-time)*
- Contribution towards eye tests and glasses
-Trust life insurance scheme
- We offer winter flu vaccination vouchers

*dependent on the needs of the role

Holiday - Enhanced annual leave – 25 days plus bank holidays (pro rata) - Birthday leave - additional day leave - Celebration day - to celebrate anything of your choice

Other Leave - Sick leave – 20 days full pay, followed by 20 days half pay (pro rata & following 3 months service) - Emergency dependent care – option to use 25% of paid sick leave for emergency care of a dependent (pro rata & following 3 months of service) - Enhanced maternity pay

Benefits - 8% employer pension contributions, no employee contribution required** - Option for salary sacrifice - Season ticket loan - Cycle to Work scheme

Discounts, offers and free stuff
- The list is endless and includes tickets to Somerset House events and entrance to other London Heritage sites
-Discounts in Somerset House cafes and restaurants
-Discounts with various high street retailers and restaurants
-Discounts to local leisure centres

**following 3 months of employment