Horizon Youth Zone.
Building a brand with young people, for young people
Horizon Youth Zone.
Horizon Youth Zone is a new youth charity in Grimsby, providing thousands of young people with the opportunity to discover their passion and their purpose.
This local charity is spun off from the national success of the OnSide Youth Zones model, which identifies areas where these facilities will have the greatest impact and then builds facilities to be run and managed by a local charity.
The £14m investment in the conversion of one of Grimsby’s heritage warehouse buildings in the heart of the town is revolutionary and a game-changer for the area.
Our commitment to the community project.
Over the time it has taken this project to come to fruition, culminating in the opening of its doors in November 2025, we’ve provided our time, skills and mentoring to the fledgling charity.
Building a brand identity.
Our Managing Director, Rob, mentored a group of young people through branding workshops to develop everything from scratch – the name of their Youth Zone, the logo, strapline and messaging.
This ensured the brand truly resonated with the young people who would be using the facility. It was important that they felt it was for them in every sense of the word.
Rather than designing for young people, we designed with them, ensuring their voices were at the heart of every creative decision.
Building awareness.
As contractors began to work on building renovations along the River Freshney, we were tasked with designing hoardings that would both hide the building works and also raise awareness for the upcoming Youth Zone with eye-catching visuals, visible to pedestrians and drivers on Frederick Ward Way.
Our Creative Director Kirk referenced notes taken from the young people’s mentor sessions as inspiration for the content in the designs, such as local landmarks like Grimsby’s Dock Tower and the Cleethorpes illuminations and images of young people engaging in the activities that will be available when the Youth Zone is open.
Kirk developed a vibrant visual style for Horizon, designed to appeal to the young people of Grimsby but also to make the most impact possible against the backdrop of grade 2 listed buildings – this included bold colours and shapes, a DIY collage design style and comic book style halftone dot shading throughout.
Making the space their own.
Once the project reached the interiors stage, the YPDG guided interior messaging and design concepts that were brought to life by our team.
Everything from interior wall murals to the clothing worn by the Horizon team reflected the authentic voice of its users.
The young people weren’t just consulted – they were actively involved in shaping how their space would look and feel at every stage.
v Video of interiors and drone v
Job Role, Horizon Youth Zone
Sustaining the vision.
We delivered a comprehensive Digital Brand Assets Hub with guidelines and downloadable resources, ensuring brand consistency across all future applications and suppliers.
This means Horizon can continue to grow and develop its marketing materials while maintaining the brand integrity we established together.
Drone photography by Paul Fenwick
What the team says:
“We were excited to be asked to help Horizon Youth Zone develop their branding and visual identity throughout the building.
What made it different to other clients is that Horizon wanted all decisions to be made in collaboration with the young people. Instead of designing for young people, we designed with them, and ensured that their voices were at the heart of every creative decision.
Seeing the finished facility and knowing we played a part in creating a space that will positively impact thousands of young lives makes this one of the most rewarding projects we’ve worked on.”
Rob, Managing Director
