Designing an Illustrated Map for the Wessex Rivers Trust
This month I got to work on something really special – an illustrated map for the Wessex River Trust. It’s part of their Anton Chalk Stream Resilience Program, and it’s going to be used for community events, schools, and even their website to help bring the story of the river to life.
Why this project Matters?
The Anton River is a beautiful chalk stream with so much wildlife and history along its banks. The Trust’s goal is to help people connect with it, understand it, and protect it. My job was to create an illustrated map that could make people stop, look, and say, “Oh wow — that’s my river!"
Chalk streams are one of the rarest freshwater habitats on Earth, and most of them are found right here in England. Their crystal-clear water comes from underground chalk aquifers, creating a steady flow and cool temperature all year round. This makes them the perfect home for wildlife like trout, kingfishers, and mayflies, which are a key identifier of clean, healthy water. Healthy chalk streams don’t just support nature; they also provide clean water for people and help protect against flooding.
How I brought their illustrated map to life
Alex sent me over so much source material, including satellite photos of the river. I started by sketching the full length of the river from these maps and working out where all the landmarks would be in relation to the bends of the river, which was quite time-consuming and confusing at times. Once I had this, I could sketch simple doodles of the landmarks and add the titles before proofing the illustrated map sketch and sending it back to the client.
We initially hoped to add a large salmon, and after the team gave feedback, we added more landmark illustrations and zoomed the map out more so the headwaters could be shown in their entirety, including the winterbournes (the area upstream of the main river channel). These could be represented by a naturally drying riverbed and some broader images of the surrounding farmed landscape, which characterises this area.
We also decided to lighten up the whole illustrated map in relation to their vibrant branding/logo colours and add a title of 'River Anton' and add in more location markers.
I went ahead, fully illustrating the landmarks and making a textured green and baby blue background to match the logos and using the branded font. The client decided to change the light blue background to a lighter (or darker) green so that it does not look like an island, so I went with dark to really highlight the area we were looking at. We also thought some of the locations looked too similar, so we swapped one for an agriculture-related image of a tractor/harvester and amended some connotations.
Seeing the Finished Piece in Action
I can’t wait to see the illustrated map out in the wild where it will be used in education at schools and at events, popping up on social media, and hopefully sparking a few conversations about the river’s history and wildlife.
Projects like this remind me why I love what I do – turning a complicated satellite image of a river into an illustrated story.
If you’re curious, you can see more about the Anton Chalk Stream Resilience Program below.
“Ferne was a pleasure to work with – responsive, creative and totally got the brief. The final illustration is beautiful and will be a hugely valuable tool in our engagement work. We’d absolutely recommend her to others looking for thoughtful, high-quality design.”
The Author: Ferne Glannan-MacRae
Ferne Glannan-MacRae is a wildlife illustrator and designer with a passion for British wildlife and conservation. She creates intricate digital artwork on her iPad, capturing the beauty and diversity of the natural world. Before going freelance in 2022, Ferne honed her skills during six years in the print industry as a designer. With a background in wildlife photography, her work is deeply rooted in a love for nature and a commitment to raising awareness for wildlife on our doorstep.