Branded Experience Design
Brand: Cotopaxi
By: Gia Marino & Max Stockdale
Procreate | SketchUp | Rhino | KeyShot | Figma
Project Timeline:
Client Research | Brand Insights | KPI’s
Physical Modeling | 3D Modeling | Client-Facing Presentation
CLIENT BRIEF
Cotopaxi wants to create a physical space whose focus will be a branded experience. This physical location will be a platform for their existing products and/or services. Cotopaxi is looking to you, as an experiential designer, to gain an understanding of their brand, audience, competitors, etc. in order to develop a branded environmental experience.
Client Research:
Client-Facing Presentation:
Initial Concept Ideas:
- -life size cotopaxi bag(showing off style of brand + bold colors; meant to draw viewers in), blow up house, fun activities for kids, kid’s camp
2. block party idea(bringing together a group of people), Family oriented event; parents love the bag; possible story of bags/clothing being passed down to the next generation
3. camping bus; adventure inspired. S’mores kit from pop-up and night roasting marshmallows. Possibly a competition to make a fire, use scraps of clothing to make your own bracelet
4. modern tent, bright colors: nooks and crannies, camping + brand colors + canvas, down sleeping bags to play room filled textures, overall sensory experience, experiencing lights, colors, textures, how sound contributes, full sensory experience that mimics how they feel in nature(camping experience), full experience: tent starry sky experience
5. nature + community experience, fire pits + smore kit(pre-made smores and sit around a fake campfire), day time tent: big rolls of the materials, sculptural piece that is made out of their materials, craft materials: bracelets(family craft project): simple craft twisted bracelets, hammocks around the area to give it a more campy feel, bringing magazines/newspapers to make your seat(playing into the recycling and reusing materials);sit-upon(girl scout seats), piles of folded newspaper, older camping traditions(passing down legacy)-make something simple that can then be functional; sit-acan decorate with stickers, painted
6. Whimsical, nostalgic version of camping, family-oriented, Sustainable DIY craft and campfire experience, Making your on Sit-Upon(activities that your family can do together): bring a stuffer(something to stuff a pillow with); magazines/newspapers, old clothes, old towel, pick out your pieces of clothing, Tie them together(fringed fabric), Use them for the campfire outside
Refined Concepts:
Backyard camping experience
-putting up a tent contest-seeing how fast you can put it up; family oriented activities on the lawn; takeaway: can cozy/key chain; entered into a drawing for a new bag! participate in activities(entered into raffle);
-get info = on mailing list; outdoor scavenger hunt(finding things from nature); family oriented, quick, fun activities; nature things and crafts; girl scout camp: assignment-collect things from nature and make table arrangements; movie room inside the tent?
Passing traditions = longevity of the brand
-food, music, games, VW beetle bus, camp lights, pop up camping bus, pick up smores kit-(hot chocolate), get supplies for sit-upon craft, create your own seat for the fireplace,playing activities, hanging out, eating, camp vibes
Whimsical pop-up tent experience
-bold, bright colors, kids camp activities, camping experiences(starry night sky), Sustainable DIY craft and campfire experience, VW beetle bus, pop up camping bus, smores kit, create your own seat(sit-upon: old girl scout tradition), Bag design pop-up, create a bigger than life version of a cotopaxi backpack, inside you can see all the different compartments, kids playhouse?
Locations: Schenley Plaza, Oakland, Market Square, Downtown, Southside Works, South Side
Tailgate Camping Experience
-VW bus(welcome center)-pop-up camper, Family oriented event, Fun camping activities, Pick up craft supplies-make your own Sit-Upon, bringing in stuffers(magazine/newspapers/old clothing), s’mores kit per family, campfire pits around lawn(use handmade seats), live music, outdoor movie night?, passing down apparel to future generations, passing down family camping traditions, nostalgia, do good, positivity, block party vibes
Feedback from Daphne Peters:
Cotopaxi Campout:
time of event: fall, weekends, evening to night, campfire pits, location: schenley plaza, fun camping activities, camping traditions, multi-generational, nostalgia, longevity of the brand, vw bus station, s’mores kits, fun, quick, and engaging activities, family oriented
Story:
-live music on cotopaxi branded stage(social media backdrop for pics), DO GOOD mural, pop-up exhibit(Del Dia collection and the Repurposed Collection), Yurt: pop-up store, Del Dia Collection(pick/buy an original fanny pack), iron on “Do Good” patches, drink bus, branded cotopaxi streamers(handwritten thankyou notes), campsite with bonfires and s’mores kits, corn hole and giant jenga, activities in the tent? space heaters, deeplocal style customization station
Feedback from Ted Galperin:
-don’t introduce cotopaxi as “like Patagonia”, llama petting zoo with pop up store experience, fanny pack feeding bags passed out to visitors, Home Base idea(10 different excursions throughout the long weekend), Break down into three main categories(doing good in the community, getting out in nature, testing the product/having fun), VW buses could be used as shuttles to take people to different events around Pittsburgh(group hikes)
-reinforcing the Llama(focus on color, fun, and being silly)
-Tents in an urban setting could look like a homeless environment(considering the scale of the tents and making them larger/yurt size scale)
-Different tents to learn about different parts of their company(research, materials, and function/use), bring in Pittsburgh(local drinks + food), all of our concepts and ideas should fall under the lens of doing good in the community, getting out in nature, or having fun testing the products)
Cotopaxi Campout
- 3 main lenses: doing good in the community, getting out in nature, and product testing/having fun
- Location: Schenley plaza or The Great Lawn — Frick Park
- VW Buses used as shuttles to take visitors to different events related to doing good in the community/exploring nature/Pittsburgh
The Fun and Silly: petting zoo shows the fun and silly of cotopaxi, there’s llamas to pet and cotopaxi fanny packs full of food to grab and feed the llamas. Encourages a great photo opt. Potentially we can make the petting zoo look more like a branded experience and people can specifically buy fanny packs there?
-Product testing/advertising/explaining the process, Doing Good in the Community, Tent experiences, Social Media Opportunity, Group hikes/exploring Pittsburgh
Main goal for the experience: cotopaxi has the values and quality as their competitors but they also have a unique wholesome, silliness that sets them apart
three core values: life is about experiencing fun, our products are quality and unique, do good in the community
Initial Study Model
Color Swatches
Hiking Sign Design
Final Concept= “Cotopaxi Hiking Adventure”
Main goal for the experience: cotopaxi has the values and quality as their competitors but they also have a unique wholesome, silliness that sets them apart
Three core values: life is about experiencing fun, our products are quality and unique, do good in the community
Audience: millenials, open to bring families, experienced camper, sustainable, wants something fun to do on the weekend
Time Frame: august — september — end of sumer into fall. open Friday-Sunday. 5:00 PM — 11:00 PM
How Are People Gonna Know: schneley, people come across it, people bought cotopaxi can get an email saying “we are in your area this next month!
The Fun and Silly:
petting zoo: shows the fun and silly of cotopaxi, there’s llamas to pet and cotopaxi fanny packs full of food to grab and feed the llamas. Encourages a great photo opt. Potentially we can make the petting zoo look more like a branded experience and people can specifically buy fanny packs there?
the petting zoo is themed as the cotopaxi mountains
wood panels of info and graphic design to set the theme
Product showcasing of quality
fanny pack feed bag, talking about Del Dia collection (having people be able to buy them right there), people carry the pack through the experience
to enter experience you buy a pack and brings you to everything
its cold so youre allowed to borrow a jacket to walk around
misty room, cold, top of the cotopaxi mountain, howling wind
hiking the cotopaxi, showcasing explorers
Doing Good in the Community
do good patches that donates to charity, kits or info on how to be more sustainble, recipes and snacks for sustainble camping, give out reusable water bottles that filter anything, natural body products, a sustainable camping experience (dehydrating food), eco-friendly smores and hot coco kit, stories and profile of factory workers with their backpacks
Vibes to remember:
audience: likes high end but still enjoys going out into nature and roughing it, showcase the product throughout?, have the audience go through a 3 part story, bring it back to pittsburgh
Physical Model
Renders
Final Presentation
~Cotopaxi Hiking Adventure~
project documentation: https://www.figma.com/file/IAYa6km3QpPgnYdUrhMtxp/cotopaxi?node-id=0%3A1&t=vqa4RCYpQgpgbz7K-1
