Slow Down Wakefield: A little sign. A lot of community.
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Wakefield Community
Wakefield, NH -
Public Health & Community Safety
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Campaign Branding, Creative Direction, Community Engagement, Website Design
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Sign, Flyer, Social Media, Coordination
Slow down wakefield sign
The Challenge
A simple idea with the potential to make a difference.
Like many small towns, Wakefield, New Hampshire, is a place where pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists share roads that aren't always designed with everyone in mind.
Recognizing an opportunity to encourage safer driving and bring greater awareness to the issue, Studio Eighty Seven founder Natalie Leroux conceived the Slow Down Wakefield campaign and brought the idea to the Greater Wakefield Lions Club.
With the club's financial support, a simple idea grew into a community-wide initiative designed to encourage drivers to slow down, promote pedestrian and bicycle safety, and give residents a visible way to participate.
The AppROACH
More than a sign.
A successful campaign needed more than a logo and a yard sign. It needed a clear message, a recognizable identity, and opportunities for residents to get involved.
Studio Eighty Seven developed the campaign's visual identity and communications strategy, creating a cohesive system that could extend across signage, social media, print materials, and a dedicated website. Working alongside the Lions Club and local partners, we expanded the initiative to incorporate education, resources, and community participation.
The goal was to make road safety a shared responsibility, with a campaign that was easy to recognize, participate in, and replicate.
A collection of facebook posts from organizers and the community at large
The Solution
Many ways to make it matter.
The Slow Down Wakefield campaign brought together a coordinated collection of creative materials and community initiatives:
More than 300 free yard signs funded by the Greater Wakefield Lions Club and distributed to residents.
Social media graphics, flyers, and a dedicated website to promote the campaign and encourage participation.
Free bicycle helmets distributed through Wakefield Parks & Recreation.
A Bike/Walk to School Day encouraging students and families to engage in active transportation.
Bicycle and pedestrian safety education provided to local students by the Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire.
Together, these efforts transformed a simple roadside reminder into a broader community initiative.
The Outcome
Good Ideas Travel.
The campaign received overwhelmingly positive community feedback, with more than 300 signs distributed throughout Wakefield and residents rallying around a shared cause.
Receive a download link with links to free, editable Canva templates designed to help you launch a community safety campaign with clarity and impact. These templates are easy to customize and built for non-commercial, community-based use, making it simple to adapt the message for your own town or organization.
Please note you will need to have or sign up for a Canva account in order to use these templates. If you do not already have a Canva account you will be prompted to sign up for a free account when you click the links in the downloaded PDF.
Instructions on how to edit the templates are included. Some experience with Canva is preferred, but someone with intermediate internet application experience will be able to figure it out.
Its reach soon extended beyond town lines. Wakefield's police chief reported interest from Rochester, neighboring Middleton replicated the campaign, and additional inquiries came from Wolfeboro.
Recognizing the opportunity to help other communities launch similar initiatives, Studio Eighty Seven made the campaign's design templates available for free through Design for Community.
What began as one designer's idea became a collaborative community effort and a reusable resource for other towns.
