OUGD603: Extended Practice - Brief 7: Zoo Giftshop Branding, Design Development

Brief

Produce a concept for a re-brand of the Gift Shop at Chester Zoo by producing a visual identity, a set of branding guidelines and considered deliverables to be branded.

Concept / Proposition 

I propose to create a visual identity for the gift shop that is primarily aimed at children, and therefore will be as interactive as possible.

With an emphasis on exploring imagery in order to create a unique visual identity I want to use this brief as an opportunity to experiment with mixed media.

Originally I had proposed to only produce the branding for the gift shop, however during the initial ideas process I developed the idea further by creating a spider diagram of ideas and possibilities for the brief.

Branding is a large part of my design practice and something I would definitely like to explore further following the course, as this was one of the main branding briefs along with DSM etc. I have undertaken this year I wanted to produce I really strong concept and range of of visuals which could become part of my final portfolio.

Therefore I wanted to undertake a larger task than just a gift shop branding and decided to produce three characters which not only visual represent three different aspects of the zoo; a gift shop, café and ice cream stand but also relate to their corresponding sector for example; a generous bear who loves giving gifts, a greedy tiger who loves to scoff his face and a cool penguin.

These characteristics are something which I was able to reiterate consistency throughout the branded collateral for each sector of the zoo.

I'm really pleased with this concept as not only does it give some context to the design decisions I made throughout the brief but also is an really engaging idea which meet the criteria of the brief and hopefully would be relatable to the target audience of children. 

A lot of the current styles illustration styles I have been seeing inspired me during the course of the Zoo Branding brief.

I particularly liked the illustration style of individuals such as Hey Studio and Stephen Cheetham which had a slick, modern and clean feel which is something I wanted achieve.

Something as simple as building up a series of shapes in a variety of hues similarly to Stephen Cheetham’s work can produce a unique and eye-catching illustration.

I wanted a simplistic solution for the images and therefore began by sketching out the basic shapes I would need in order to make up each of the characters. I was able use this as a guide in order to make a series of vector shapes which over-layed and built up to make an animal. 

Considering this was my first attempt at using vectors and shapes to built up a digital illustration I am extremely pleased with the end result and believe they turned out very well, the simplistic style not only appeals to children which is the primary target audience but is also something which could be appreciated by adults which would theoretically be a secondary target audience for the zoo as they are the ones who would be taking the children to the zoo.

Chris Haughton’s  books have often been described as ‘Children’s books for Graphic Designers’. Not only does this aesthetic fit with the children’s book concept but is also appropriate for the audience whom will actually use my branding guidelines.

I had previously produced a set of branding guidelines however, they always felt separate from the brief and therefore I aimed to use this brief as an opportunity to produce a really engaging set of branding guidelines which were appropriate for the brief.

I chose to format the branding guidelines as a story told from the point of view from the character I had created informing how he should be used. Not only was this more interactive which is key to my practice but also is appropriate for the target audience of the brief, children.

Branding guidelines are something which can tend to feel separate from the branded collateral and therefore I really enjoyed using this format as a further extension of the branding itself creating a strong visual ethos for the brand. 

This idea also made the branding guidelines a lot more interactive which was a primary aim of the brief.

OUGD603: Extended Practice - Brief 7: Zoo Giftshop Branding, Research

Having visited a couple of Zoo's prior to undertaking the brief I was able to use the printed collateral I collected during my visit in order to inform my own design process.

Compared to the aesthetic of the branding used by Berlin Zoo, I believe the the Chester Zoo branding has much more of a friendly feel to it which I believe is appropriate for my own branding.

The friendly feel is strongly reiterated not only in the aesthetic of the engaging hand-render typeface chosen but right down to the type of language which is quite informal and has been considered in terms of it's effectiveness in communicating the overall concept.

I like the idea of letting the concept inform all the design decisions, as this will not only present a more rounded branding but a strong visual identity to associated with the zoo.

Primary Research, Chester Zoo

• Chester Zoo have over 12,000 animals in there zoo - but are helping thousands more around the world through there conservation and education activities.
• The zoo’s mission is to be a major force in conserving biodiversity worldwide
• They currently care for more than 400 different species in the zoo
• Every effort goes into ensuring the highest standards of welfare and the best care is given to all animals, from the tiny snails to the tall giraffes. 
• Our charitable work extends well beyond the zoo’s perimeter. At home and abroad, they support and conduct some 150 field projects for conservation and education in more than 50 countries worldwide. 
• Created Act for Wildlife, a conservation campaign that gives us the chance to get involved and make a real difference for wildlife conservation around the world.
• "The only reason we’re here is because one man, George Mottershead, had a dream of a zoo without bars"
• "Our vision is for a diverse, thriving and sustainable natural world. Our mission is to be a major force in conserving biodiversity worldwide"

Source: http://www.chesterzoo.org

• Chester Zoo is a zoological garden at Upton by Chester, in Cheshire, England.
•  It was opened in 1931 by George Mottershead and his family, who used as a basis some animals reported to have come from an earlier zoo in Shavington
• It is one of the UK's largest zoos at 111 acres

Map showing the café / kiosks on site

Berlin Zoo

• Zoo Berlin the most speciose zoo worldwide, located in the heart of Berlin
• They have also lots of species you can hardly find in other zoos

Source: http://www.zoo-berlin.de/en

• The oldest and best known zoo in Germany. 
• Located in Berlin's Tiergarten
• With about 1,500 different species and almost 20,500 animals the zoo presents the most comprehensive collection of species in the world
• The zoo and its aquarium had more than 3 million visitors in 2013.
• It is considered to be the most visited zoo in Europe and one of the most popular worldwide
• Globally known animals like Knut, the polar bear, and Bao Bao, the Giant Panda have contributed to the zoo's public image.

Map of the food and gift shop facilities available at Berlin Zoo

OUGD603: Extended Practice - YCN Collaborative Brief, Boards for Submission and Evaluation

Following photography I began to produce a basic template for our submission boards to YCN.

Evaluation:

As well as having the opportunity to work with Jane whom I know from previous group work and critiques has a strong work ethic and is very passionate about what she does I was really looking forward to the challenge of the competition brief.

Together we had decided to to work on the YCN Save The Children brief which asked us to design and produce a 'resource' to inspire and motivate Dad's to read to their children for ten minutes a day. The brief was extremely open in terms of what we could possibly produce in order to communicate the campaign message which we felt would give us the opportunity to be really creative and produce a vast amount of collateral between us.

Another reason we chose the brief was the opportunity to work on a brief which wasn't branding something which although interested both of us, we felt this design would be a new interesting challenge and would provide some diversity to our portfolios.

I believe me and Jane worked really well together in terms of creating concepts and ideas, during our initial meeting we were able to really effectively bounce ideas off of each other in order to ultimately create a really engaging concept in which we would produce a series of seven ten minute books, one for each night of the week which we believe would encourage the habit of reading each night within the child and parent.

From a simple conversation about why we ourselves enjoyed reading we were also to come up with an idea for how to package the books in order to give a sense of excitement and suspense and make the child eager to read the next book which is appropriate for the brief we were set.

We had initially agreed that we would each design and illustrate three books each and then possibly design the final book together however although we had initially set a series of rules and an aesthetic we wanted for the illustrations we each interpreted these differently and found it difficult to match our styles in order to create a sense of continuity. We asked a couple members of the year and the consensus was that it would be more productive for the brief to have one concentrate on illustrating books etc and the other to think about the packaging and other promotional material which was necessary for getting our message across.

As a result of this I was left with the responsibility of designing the body copy and illustrations for seven books which did feel quite daunting especially with my own personal briefs I was undertaking for the extended practice module at the time.

Following a discussion with Andy Lodge at my portfolio review we discussed the possibility of instead of rushing the design process and creating seven book which were average to really develop the current book I did have in order to have the high standard I would expect for my portfolio. He explained that as  it was a competition brief in which our submission would purely be in the format of boards it would be more effective to produce one full book which we could photograph and just cover and possibly one or DPS which we could photograph to give the impression of a series of books.

This would also mean I would be able to use my time more effectively to work on the final details such as boards etc. for our submission.

I put this forward to Jane, explaining that I was struggling to meet the deadlines and could possibly be using my time more effectively and she was extremely understanding allowing me to produce one full book and covers and a DPS layout for each of the remaining books which I believe is a lot more realistic for the timeframe available.

Although I am disappointed I was not able to design all seven books for our submission I am extremely pleased with our project overall, the box especially had been crafted really well by Jane and photographed really well.

With myself and Jane being quite concept driven graphic designers I believe our concept is really engaging and effectively answers the problem set by the brief however if we were to redo the brief I think it would be beneficial to think more in depth about the context behind the brief and why it is important that the parent / guardian uses the box-set of books and get into the habit of reading to their children each night. This could possibility be in the format of a website or educational resource - a stand at a book fair/ library perhaps? - which would explain the campaign the box set has been designed for in more detail.

OUGD603: Extended Practice - YCN Collaborative Brief, Photography

Selection of photos from mine and Jane's photography session today.

Overall I am pleased with how our photos have came out, we were able to get a variety of shots which really demonstrated the concept behind our deliverables and how they would be interacted with. The box in particular photographed quite well as it is an unusual item and we we able to capture some really nice shots with the open drawers revealing the books which I think could be extremely effective as a impact board for our competition submission.

One possible area of improvement for these photographs would be the background we shot onto, although the white works well in terms of contrast with the colourful box it has sort of washed out the books and is not as impactful. Over the course of third year I have seen the benefits of colour and how it can be used to really lift a project and therefore I would of liked to have possibly shot the books on a pastel coloured background complimenting the illustrations.

Me and Jane did discuss the possibility of photographing the deliverables in some sort of context however we were unsure about what items would be appropriate.