Case Study: The Grand Appeal; Detect-O-Gromit app
Being Bristol-based, I’ve always loved how creative and community-minded the city is.
So getting the chance to work with The Grand Appeal, the official charity for Bristol Children’s Hospital, was a real privilege.
The charity does incredible work supporting families and saving lives — and their long-running partnership with Aardman Animations and Wallace & Gromit makes it feel even more rooted in the heart of Bristol.
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The Grand Appeal is famous for its citywide sculpture trails — huge, uniquely decorated Gromit statues dotted around Bristol for people to discover.
When the team approached us, they wanted to make the experience even more interactive and engaging while also helping to raise more funds for the charity.​​
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N.B., that's me with the long red hair at the front of the banner photo. I also made all the top hats. I can be creative outside digital too (Though my stapling skills are a bit off!)
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The Challenge
The goal was to design a digital experience that encouraged people of all ages to get out, explore, and connect with the trail in a fun and rewarding way. It needed to bring the same playful, imaginative energy that Aardman is known for — and tie it all together with opportunities to support the charity through donations and merchandise sales.
My role
My focus was on tone of voice and content design — making sure every bit of copy felt true to the world of Wallace & Gromit. I wanted users to feel that same warmth, humour, and gentle wit that makes Aardman’s work so loved. (I even rewatched The Wrong Trousers as research — a tough job, but someone had to do it!)
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I also worked closely with the development team to map the user journey and create content for every touchpoint — from notifications and microinteractions to the small, delightful moments that guided people through the app. It was about keeping the experience playful and intuitive while making sure it all worked seamlessly in context with the geo-location features.
The solution
The final product was the Detect-O-Gromit App — a digital companion to the sculpture trail. Using geo-fencing, the app encouraged people to explore the city, unlocking and “collecting” Gromits as they visited each location. Alongside the app, an integrated website and online shop helped drive donations and sales, supporting The Grand Appeal’s life-changing work.
It was such a joyful project to work on — combining creativity, storytelling, and purpose in a way that brought the community together and made a real difference for a brilliant cause.
