The Making of ....

This is a early sketch of the first medal.  The obverse was always going to be of the Titanic steaming across the Atlantic towards New York.   We wanted somehow to recognise that the Titanic was a White Star Line ship and the large star sitting behind Titanic not only shows how magnificant she looks but captures the connection effortlessly.

Our early storyboards also showed Titanic under a starlit sky - but how could that be achieved as well !!  Laura went away and came back with a stunning solution which can be seen in the background to make this design truly a fitting tribute to remember Titanic.

The reverse will be different for each medal and on subsequent releases will appear on the front of the packaging.  The reverse of the first just shows the ocean where Titanic sunk.  During the development of the concept Orange launched the Apple iphone an excited Laura was one of the first to receive hers and minutes later had used an iphone application to produce develop a concept we had been discussing. 

The next day she showed it to us and it was pretty much what we envisaged and very little changed for the final proof. 

Titanic evokes thoughts and emotions like now other disaster ever.  This simple design will let us all think about that night in our own time and in our own way.

Notes from Laura _ Royal Mint Senior Engraver

I was very excited to be offered the chance to work on Titanic Remembered.  It was a great opportunity to develop a series of medals about such a significant event in history.

After an initial meeting at the Royal Mint to discuss the themes and significant details from Titanic’s story, I went away and began designing.  This is the part of the process that I enjoy the most – the first stages where I have the freedom to put lots of ideas down and sketch how the series might unfold.  By imagining how the designs might work as a complete set, and just not individual pieces, I was able to see the story as a whole.  It is from this approach that all the designs stemmed. 

The first design I completed was in many ways the toughest because it would be so prominent, the one that would be common to all six medals in the series.  We all agreed that having a strong view of the ship was essential and I felt a three-quarter view would present an interesting perspective, helping to convey the sheer scale and presence of Titanic.  I wanted to use a star to represent the White Star Line but also because it is such a strong symbol.

The second design I prepared was for the other side of the first medal, ‘Titanic Remembered’.  My brief was to consider an empty sea accompanied by an inscription to convey the story.  It needed to be sensitive in its treatment and sum up the tone of the whole series. 

There were initially two important considerations: the words we would use, including the dates, the location of the tragedy, a sentence on what happened and the number of survivors; and then in what way the words would be arranged.  At the time I was thinking it all through, I had bought a new phone and downloaded an application that allowed me to draw with words.  It occurred to me to work on some sketches of waves using the word TITANIC, my thinking being to build up a texture of waves using this single emotive word.  I developed the idea using the application and my initial sketches soon led on to three-dimensional models.  This concept did not change all that much but as I worked I simplified and refined the main elements. 

I hope my design for this particular medal, and indeed the designs for the series as a whole, are moving and allow the viewer to reflect and consider their own feelings about Titanic.