The local Neighbourhood Development Forum should get the all-clear from Camden council next month, which means it can go full steam ahead with drafting the actual plan.

The experience of other Neighbourhood Development Plans is that strong visual imagery helps people understand what the NDF is all about, and having a unifying logo for all communications is A Good Idea.

To that end (and because while the government is all for localism it doesn’t want to actually give any money to help), the NDF is holding a competition to design its logo. The winning entry will get glory, fame and a meal for two at The Kitchen Table.

Naturally, the NDF would love any local graphic designers to get involved in this community project, despite the lack of funds for payment – though any non-professional budding artists are also very welcome to enter. There may also be the opportunity for some follow-up paid work, as a small amount of funding may come available in a few months, but no promises on that score.

Here’s the brief, which as you’ll see, leaves plenty of room for artistic interpretation.

• The name of the organisation is “Fortune Green and West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Forum” although it’s likely to be referred to as just the “West Hampstead NDF”
• The logo will be used on all communications: e-mail, twitter, leaflets, posters, banners etc – so it needs to be fairly flexible and work on a small and large scale.
• There’s no set colour or font, but again, the font and colour scheme are likely to be used widely.
• The committee feels that it should reflect both the traditional and modern aspects of the area, especially given the developments being built around the stations and the fact that the development plan may not be “anti-development” per se.

The deadline for submissions is Monday 13th May, please mail your entry to the committee at and contact them for any more details.

To find out more about what the forum is trying to achieve, check out its website or read more of my articles on its evolution over the past few months.