When cricket, creativity, and cause come together.
When Essex County Cricket Club’s opening batsman Nick Browne marked his testimonial year, we were honoured to be entrusted with designing and producing the commemorative brochure. More than a memento of Nick’s achievements, the Nick Browne testimonial brochure also serves as a charitable purpose, raising funds for the Ruth Strauss Foundation and The Cricketers’ Trust.
A Word-of-Mouth Introduction
This exciting project came our way through a strong recommendation: Carl Fuller, a member of the Institute of Directors, introduced us to Adam Overton, who was organising the testimonial events for Nick. With our in-house cricket enthusiast Neil Foster (aka Foz) on board, we were eager to get involved.
From Brief to Boundary
We kicked off with a face-to-face meeting between Adam, Nick, Neil, and me, as the lead designer, to shape the creative direction The client brought along a brochure from a previous testimonial they admired, this gave us a visual benchmark. Our task was to retain that quality feel while adapting it to Nick’s unique brand and personality.
Although a spot-foiled cover was initially considered, the tight turnaround meant a different approach was needed. Instead, we opted for an elegant soft-touch, anti-scuff laminate and a premium Inspira paper stock-tactile, sustainable, and refined.
Planning the Innings
Working backward from the delivery date, we created a detailed schedule and page plan. The 60+ page brochure needed to be designed, proofed, and litho printed in just a few weeks, and only some content was ready at the outset.
We reserved space for pre-designed adverts from sponsors and supporters and created multiple cover options and spread templates for early approval. Once the design framework was agreed upon, we began collating and laying out the rest of the content.
A Team Effort: Human Expertise and Smart Tech
The brochure featured heartfelt testimonials, candid photos, and creative content like a “Top Trumps”-style stats page and a Q&A with Nick. Much of the text came from fellow players and coaches, some brief, others in-depth, which required thoughtful layout and editing.
AI tools were a quiet hero in the background: from generating witty titles to enhancing awkwardly cropped or low-resolution images, they helped polish the final product while letting human creativity take centre stage.
We even put AI to work writing a sponsor advert for the prestigious back cover of the Nick Browne testimonial brochure, full of cricket puns and delivered with tongue firmly in cheek. The results were so good, we didn’t need to change a word.
Final Score: A Win for All
Once printed and bound, Nick kindly came to Formara to collect the brochures in person, and posed for a photo that became our most-liked Instagram post to date. The finished brochures are now available on Nick’s website (www.nickbrowne25.com), with proceeds supporting two incredible charities.
Nick Browne pictured outside Formara HQ with his printed testimonial brochure in hand, raising funds for the Ruth Strauss Foundation and The Cricketers’ Trust.
In Summary
What started as a fast-paced design brief turned into a celebration of a sporting career, a demonstration of creative collaboration, and a showcase for what smart design (with a little help from tech) can achieve.
Need a standout brochure, booklet or publication of your own? Whether it’s for sport, charity, or something in between, drop us a line. We’d love to hear your story.
