Bloomsbury – Chibundu Onuzu Window Art Advertising Campaign UK
WeTheSeeds (Public Arts Placemaking UK) were commissioned by Bloomsbury Publishing to create and install two bespoke Window Art Advertising displays across the United Kingdom for Chibundu Onuzo’s latest novel, Mayowa and the Sea of Words.
Bloombury Publishing x Chibundu Onuzo
The process
Ahead of the release, our window display design team worked with the original illustrations from Mayowa and the Sea of Words to create two bespoke children’s book window displays across the UK. Each sleeve design was carefully deconstructed and re-imagined to suit the unique shape and scale of high street shopfronts, bringing the vibrant story to life visually for young readers. Alongside the book title and author’s name, we prepared and presented the final digital window design drafts to our client at Bloomsbury. These UK children’s book window displays not only showcase Chibundu Onuzo’s imaginative storytelling but also promote literacy, engage families, and create unforgettable public art experiences for children and communities alike.
Digital pre-install mockup below:
Growing the seeds
Following client approval of the digitalised window designs, our skilled window artists traveled across the UK to hand-paint each design directly onto booksellers’ windows. Using a meticulous layering process at each location, we work closely with each shop to ensure the final hand-painted children’s book window mural displays faithfully reflect the approved digital designs, capturing the vibrant illustrations and imaginative storytelling of Mayowa and the Sea of Words.
The two UK children’s book window advertising display installations were completed in time for the book launch, combining public arts place-making with innovative children’s book marketing. Featured at prominent high street locations, including The Notting Hill Bookshop (13 Blenheim Cres, London W11 2EE), and Books on the Hill (20 Hill Rd, Clevedon BS21 7NZ), these bespoke children’s book window displays engaged families, promoted literacy, and brought Chibundu Onuzo’s story to life for young readers. By transforming shopfronts into visually striking, interactive & community engagement displays, the campaign strengthened children’s book promotion across the UK while creating memorable public art experiences and supporting childrens’ literacy initiatives.
Images of the final windows can be found below:
Collaborating with booksellers, we promoted the children’s book window displays on social media, raising awareness of Mayowa and the Sea of Words across the UK!
5 stars is definitely not enough to describe the excellent service we received from WeTheSeeds! We approached them with a last minute brief and not only were they able to fulfill this at lightning speed, they created an incredible window display that was even better than we had imagined! We had one very happy author and bookshop! Would highly recommend and look forward to working with them on many future projects.
— Senior brand manager, Bloomsbury Publishing UK