Designing Confidence in Coastal Resilience

Client

Folkestone Shoreline

Sector

Property Development / Coastal Development / Flood Risk

Overview

Folkestone Shoreline’s new seafront development needed to reassure prospective apartment buyers that the site was safe, resilient and designed with long-term coastal flood risks in mind. Working alongside Buro Happold’s water and flood risk consultants, I created a one-page visual communication piece that agents could use to explain the development’s flood mitigation strategy in a clear, engaging and accessible way.

The Challenge

The challenge was to communicate technical flood risk information to a non-specialist audience in a way that felt both credible and reassuring. Prospective buyers needed to understand that the development had been designed with resilience in mind, but without being overwhelmed by engineering language or alarmed by the subject matter itself.

The Approach

I designed an illustrated one-pager that translated the technical strategy into a more digestible and human-centred format. The piece combined clear information with a visual style inspired by Folkestone’s coastal landscape, helping to root the communication in a strong sense of place while softening the complexity of the subject.

By blending technical content with a more surreal and optimistic illustrative approach, the design helped make flood mitigation measures easier to understand while maintaining a tone of trust, calm and confidence. The format was also designed to work practically as a shareable tool for agents speaking with potential buyers.

The Outcome

The result was a clearer and more approachable communication piece that helped bridge the gap between technical expertise and public understanding. It enabled agents to explain the development’s resilience strategy more effectively, while giving prospective buyers greater confidence in the long-term safety of the site.