“Heritage exhibits that are well-crafted and thoughtfully designed can have a profound impact on visitors.”
"The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible"
Our creative director, Richard Hale, started drawing, painting, and model-making at the age of 12, joined an animatronic company after leaving school, and was soon head of the art department.
At the age of 22, Richard established his own company dedicated to design, theming, and manufacturing. He created themed environments and exhibitions for some of the best-known attractions and museums in the UK and across the world, specialising in Sea Life Centres.
After being invited to create a small mobile exhibition to enhance The Tank Museum’s Trench Experience, it was clear that his skills could be utilised within other exhibits. This led to a decade-long relationship, helping the museum become one of the leading independent museums in the UK.
In 2024, Richard felt he had so much more to offer creatively. He wanted to share his extensive knowledge and experience to guide and support other attractions in visualising their creative aspirations. Consequently, he and his wife, Amy, entered the Storyland Design Challenge and were thrilled to win.
Richard Hale Aged 22yrs – Paultons Park Romany Experience
The Inspiring Heritage team constantly creates the extraordinary using the latest technology and utilising their worldwide connections. Their combined knowledge and extensive backgrounds in the attraction industry are invaluable within the heritage sector, bridging the gap between them.
Inspiring Managment Team
Clients
We have been fortunate to work with incredible clients over the years and sincerely appreciate their trust and support.
Testimonials
In my 17 years at Tank Museum, the site has seen a complete redevelopment, doubling visitor numbers and quadrupling turnover. At the heart of our visitor offer sit our exhibitions, in which Richard Hale has been instrumental in achieving our success.
The Trustees are collectively responsible for the governance of the Museum and the display of its exhibits. Richard has provided exceptional designs, making it possible to present the Exhibitions Team’s aspirations to the Trustees for their buy-in and investment. He is skilled at collectively gathering and integrating views and ideas while adhering to operational procedures and briefs provided by our experienced exhibitions team and curators. Richard’s plans are meticulous and detailed with precise measurements, so sub-contractors know precisely what to produce. He often includes and recycles parts of old exhibitions or devises inventive ways to save money and achieve outstanding results. He has created designs that are exceptional at engaging the full diversity of our audience.
I knew Richard had done well when my Auntie Mal visited the Museum and told a neighbour that it “wasn’t as dull as I thought it would be!”Richard’s ability to work within tight deadlines and maximise budgets is remarkable. He is transparent on costs, in particular passing through subcontractors’ actual costs, and I have always been confident that he will make our money work hard and act as part of team in getting the best results for the Museum. He has been a pleasure to work with over many years and I would unhesitatingly recommend him to others in the industry.
Richard Smith OBE
The Tank Museum Director
Richard Hale has worked on numerous gallery redisplays at The Tank Museum over a period of seven years. The projects have ranged in size from small one-off dioramas (such as a German machine-gun nest as part our Trench Experience) to the design of whole galleries; the most recent being the Second World War Hall at 3400 square metres.
Other exhibitions designed by Richard include:
2014: The Fury (utilising props from the Hollywood film)
2018: Tank, Back to the Future (a travelling exhibition from the Nationaal Militair Museum in the Netherlands)
2019: Long After the Battle (commemorating 80 years of the formation of the Royal Armoured Corps)
These displays have undoubtedly been some of our most popular, but it is Richard’s design of the Second World War Hall that is arguably his most impressive achievement here at The Tank Museum. From 2017-2021 he worked with the in-house team to design and deliver a completely revamped gallery telling the story of the Royal Armoured Corps 1939-45 through a series of battles and personal accounts. His imagination, creative flair and ability to work collaboratively with the in-house
team has led to a visually stunning gallery that incorporates a mix of modern and traditional interpretations. The feedback from visitors to date has been universally positive:
– Just want to comment on the WW2 site – such an excellent improvement on the former hall.
– The new WW2 exhibition is excellent, and is very much enhanced by the personal stories embedded throughout.
– Great time & love the new WW2 War Stories.
Richard is highly dedicated to his work and goes above and beyond to meet the requirements of the client. His design skills are the best we have come across in the industry (having worked with various exhibition design companies), he is also an experienced project manager and makes every effort to obtain value for money as far as possible. He has had to work with some tight budgets (approx. 235per square metre for the WW2 Hall) and has successfully stayed within the allocated costs by, as one example, using ex-display and other recycled materials.
The Tank Museum is looking to maintain a relationship with Richard as part of our Five-Year Exhibition Plan and we therefore strongly recommend him to other organisations.
Sarah Lambert
Exhibitions Manager
During my career I have headed several commercial property development teams and created and launched various new companies and services. When Richard Hale introduced himself to us some years ago we were immediately excited by his design expertise and impressed by his ideas and approach to visual communications.
Richard can convert a ‘blank canvas’ into amazing visual concepts that dazzle and communicate the essence of what we are trying to convey. From just an outline brief, often only the seed corn of an idea, Richard demonstrates his creative thought process and responds with stunning concepts that have benefitted through his enthusiasm, knowledge and detailed research.
I have specialised in acquiring former MoD complexes and converting them into thriving, successful commercial enterprises. Richard has been instrumental in conceptualising a number of these projects and, in addition, injecting ideas and proposals for potential property uses and conversions.
Richard‘s visuals and presentations have played a vital part in successfully conveying our development proposals to: potential partners, planners, funders, suppliers, M.P.s, local authorities and local communities. When creating often spectacular visuals and designs, Richard understands how to immerse our audiences into the heart and soul of our property development proposals.
An essential aspect of our plans to re-use, convert and regenerate former MoD complexes frequently requires highly sensitive treatment and conservation of buildings and features with heritage values. Sometimes, these are of national importance and significance.
Richard has a deep understanding and empathy for the historical and heritage elements of our projects and the importance of preserving and conserving such historically valued assets.
We look forward to a long and continued relationship with Richard.
Roy Haywood
Chief Executive
Horizon Park Limited
I have known Richard Hale for over 25 years and worked closely with him on multiple commercial design projects. Whether they have been modest scale ‘one-off’ assignments through to multi-million pound development schemes, the responses to his design presentations have never been less than: “Wow Richard – that is fantastic”!
It is always refreshing to find a talented designer who listens and can absorb a client’s often detailed and complex briefing. Richard is very comfortable with this however, when appropriate, he excels at carrying out his own research, thinking and planning to complement his client’s brief and present his own proposals, which explore both the minute detail and the wider issues. He is also happy to be challenged by his client teams.
During Richard’s early career, he received a grounding in architectural aspects of design, which has shown through in the subsequent commercial development projects he has been immersed in. His experience in ‘master planning’ for ambitious large-scale development projects is evidenced by his skills at conceptualising, theming, and 3D modelling to produce high-end panoramic project models.
Some of Richard’s areas of specialism include: visitor attractions, museum theming, exhibition design and creation, muralling, conservation and the wider heritage and conservation sectors. This unique blend of knowledge and expertise has given Richard an enviable reputation and an inspired portfolio of clients and prestigious projects.
Richard has a passion for thinking ‘outside the box’ and, combining this with his skilled utilisation of advanced, sophisticated design software, he repeatedly impresses with sometimes mind-blowing visual design concepts that exceed client expectations. He understands how to integrate complex design aspects into tangible and viable solutions. He also enjoys problem-solving while meeting client budgets and timescales. Richard’s passion, professionalism, and enthusiasm are infectious, and he repeatedly exceeds his client team’s aspirations.
Andrew Coupe
Strategic Development Consultant
Horizon Park Limited
