A visual language of gratitude, made to be held.

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At the height of lockdown, Pin Your Thanks invited the UK to thank key workers with a small, symbolic gift: a pin badge. The campaign needed to hold a collective emotional weight while remaining accessible, calm, and sincere. As Creative Lead, I developed the full design language – from identity and illustration to product design and production – shaping a system that translated care into form.

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The visual identity centred on a simple, resonant image: two hands forming a heart. More than a logo, the hand-heart symbol became the campaign’s emotional anchor – evoking gestures of giving, clapping, shielding, and comfort. Drawn to be recognisable at scale and detailed up close, it appeared across pins, packaging, digital platforms, and national press. A companion wordmark, redrawn from Chiswick Sans, paired openness with clarity – quietly civic, unbranded, and emotionally neutral. To further articulate the campaign’s tone, I developed a bespoke illustration style using offset colour blocks and linework. Referencing printmaking techniques, the visual texture implied human touch – an echo of the hand-made, care-full ethos underpinning the work. This extended across social assets, mailers, and digital storytelling, reinforcing the idea of design as a tool for connection.

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Badges were co-designed with public figures including Keira Knightley and Joe Lycett, each contributing at varying levels. My role was to translate disparate inputs – sketches, phrases, ideas – into resolved, manufacturable designs. Working directly with production partners, I led the development of a tiered product range, from accessible card-backed pins to premium editions with sustainable packaging. Every detail – from enamel finish to material weight – was calibrated to feel intimate, durable, and giftable. The campaign launched with a large-scale sculptural badge installed in Trafalgar Square. I oversaw the adaptation from artwork to three-dimensional form, ensuring the final piece retained the clarity and integrity of the original design while occupying public space with quiet strength.

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Though object-led, the campaign’s reach was digital. I directed the translation of the identity across web and social, adapting the tactility of the visual system for screen while maintaining its emotional tone. Illustration, typography, and layout were designed for legibility and warmth – creating a digital presence that felt personal, not promotional. Working alongside the campaign’s founders, I led a team of volunteer designers with a clear visual framework and open, collaborative dialogue. The creative process was fast, high-stakes, and deeply human. What emerged was not a traditional brand, but a public infrastructure of feeling – turning gratitude into gesture, and gesture into form.

Founders: Clive Little, Jenny Beavan, Matthew Penry-Davey 

Creative Lead: Billie Temple

Senior Designers: Jenna Burwell, Rebecca Thomas

Wider design team: Cyan Fullbrook, Tracy Blake, Chris Moore, Rachel Parker, Vijay Bhaskar, Leah Victoria Kemp, Zach Cobb, Paul Mulvey, Hamish Coventry