Client
Ikigai Snowboards
Brief
There's no longer such a thing as a ‘typical’ snowboarder as the sport’s demographics have changed from its early days and the number of female and older participants are increasing. While many older snowboarders happily connect with current brands, there is also a niche audience where this is not the case and that they feel overlooked by existing brands. To address this, I created a new snowboard brand named Ikigai.
Approach
I proposed that snowboard brands have not evolved with the market and that their visual language does not speak to snowboarders outside the core young male audience. My project examined the aesthetics of snowboarding and explored how graphic design can assist in repositioning and promoting it to older snowboarders who are more interested in the sport's other peaceful aspects: quiet natural settings, the freedom of the mountains and exercise in fresh air.
I first carried out extensive primary and secondary research in order to fully understand the snowboard market and perceptions of the sport by snowboarders and non-snowboarders. I then created a number of designs that I thought would resonate with the audience. I then conducted thorough qualitative and quantitative design research, testing my brand mark, logotype and board graphic concepts with the target audience via online forums and face-to-face interviews.
As a resolution, I created:
- a brand mark and logotype
- brand guidelines
- set of board graphics, including two full size wooden boards showing graphics
- image library
- product catalogue (I designed layout, set text, wrote copy and took photographs
- set of 9 stings (to be viewed on mobile phones or e-mail virals)
To view, please click on an image below. (I'm currently uploading graphics from this project, so everything is not displayed yet).
