When a Heritage Tile appears on a club wall, the finished piece looks deceptively simple. A photograph. A name. A moment in the club’s history. A QR code that opens the door to the fuller story behind it. But there is considerably more happening behind the scenes.

From researching and preparing the story through to artwork, production, quality control and installation, every tile goes through a process designed around one important principle: the finished Heritage Panel should belong to the club, while Kohd takes care of the work required to bring it together.

It starts with the story, not the machine

Before anything reaches the workshop, there needs to be a story worth preserving. That might be a player, volunteer, team, match, tour, clubhouse, achievement or one of those smaller moments that has simply become part of the fabric of the club. Kohd helps gather the photographs, memories, dates and supporting information needed to turn that subject into a Heritage story.

Research can involve checking historical records, finding additional context and resolving conflicting dates or details. Where people connected with the story are available, their memories can add something that a match report or record book never could. AI can help with that process, particularly when dealing with large amounts of information, but it doesn’t get the final say. People do. The club remains in control of what it wants to commemorate and the story it wants its Heritage Panel to tell.

Turning a story into something physical

Once the content is ready, the process moves from research into production. This is where the digital and physical sides of Kohd Heritage meet. Each story needs to work in two very different environments. There is the physical Heritage Tile that somebody might stop and read in a clubhouse corridor, and there is the richer digital story available through its QR code. The tile therefore isn’t intended to contain everything.

Its job is to create recognition and curiosity: enough information to identify the story and encourage someone to discover more. Behind that apparently simple design are decisions around photographs, cropping, typography, positioning, QR codes and consistency with the tiles already on the club’s wall. And because Heritage Panels grow over time, consistency matters. A tile produced years from now needs to sit naturally alongside one produced today.

Then it reaches the workshop

This is the part of the process that supporters rarely see. The machines, extraction systems, materials, test pieces and production equipment are where a digital design finally becomes a physical part of the club. Each tile has to be prepared for manufacture, produced accurately and checked before it leaves the workshop. It is not simply a matter of pressing a button.

Materials need to be prepared. Artwork has to be positioned correctly. Production settings need to be appropriate. Finished pieces need checking for alignment, finish and overall quality. If something isn’t right, it doesn’t become part of the Heritage Panel. That combination of technology and hands-on production is important to us. Kohd Heritage may use AI and digital technology extensively behind the scenes, but ultimately we are producing something tangible something intended to remain on a club wall for years.

One tile is only part of the picture

There is another complication. We aren’t really manufacturing individual tiles. We’re building a Heritage Panel. Every new piece has to become part of something larger. The running-bond layout means tiles form an evolving wall of club history rather than a collection of isolated plaques. New stories can continue to be added, allowing the installation to develop as more of the club’s history is discovered and as new history is made. That changes the way we think about production. The question isn’t simply, “Does this tile look good?” It’s also, “Does this belong on this club’s Heritage Panel?”

From our workshop back to the clubhouse

Once production and quality checks are complete, the tile is ready for the final part of its journey. Back to the club and that is really where the process becomes worthwhile. A machine can produce a beautifully finished object. A database can hold thousands of historical records. AI can help research information that might otherwise take volunteers hours to uncover.

But none of those things is the point. The point is the conversation that happens when somebody recognises a photograph. It’s the former player who stops to tell someone what actually happened that afternoon. It’s a younger member discovering that the person they see at the club every Saturday once played in one of its most important matches. It’s a family finding somebody they remember represented permanently on the wall. And it’s a club gradually creating a record of itself that doesn’t disappear when websites change, social-media posts vanish or the people carrying those memories are no longer around to tell them.

Technology behind the scenes. Heritage on the wall.

There is a lot of technology involved in Kohd Heritage. Research systems. AI. Digital archives. QR technology. Design software. Production equipment. Laser machinery. Data and workflows connecting the different stages together. Most club members should never need to think about any of it.

That’s our job. What they should see is a wall that keeps becoming more interesting. A wall that prompts conversations. A wall that gives generations of players, volunteers, supporters and families their place in the club’s story. And behind every one of those tiles is a surprisingly long journey before it ever reaches the wall.

Research it. Preserve it. Make it. Put it where it belongs — back in the club.