Context: VCU Brandcenter Student Project | Gymshark D&AD Sprint
Team: Cole Farrar, Dom Khun, Keith Johnson, Celeste Chance, Derek Martin
Toolkit: Figma & Adobe Creative Suite
Role: Experience Designer, UI / UX Designer, Strategist
Team: Cole Farrar, Dom Khun, Keith Johnson, Celeste Chance, Derek Martin
Toolkit: Figma & Adobe Creative Suite
Role: Experience Designer, UI / UX Designer, Strategist
OBJECTIVE
Increase Gymshark brand awareness.Increase favorability of Gymshark among 18-21-year-olds using cultural insights and a combination of social, digital and real-world activations.
PROBLEM
College calls for change.
Young adults take on new routines, friends, and addresses when entering into college. In this transitional time, change can be exciting yet daunting.
INSIGHT
Students reinvent themselves in college.
Entering college presents a fresh start, an opportunity to reinvent who you are and grow into your authentic self.
STRATEGY
Be your authentic, personal best.Get young adults to feel confident and connected in their journey by connecting them with a common goal of being their personal best, no matter what ‘best’ looks like to you.
CONCEPT
Project Connect & Project Shark WeekLaunch a two-part campaign at Christopher Newport University targeting college students during a time of transition, to embed the Gymshark community into college campuses and connect young adults.
DIGITAL CAMPAIGN
PROJECT CONNECTGymshark is launching an app extension for their existing fitness training app, exclusively for Christopher Newport University students. It aims to create a community, guide physical fitness, and improve personal health.
The app will serve as a hub for students to keep up with campus events, connect with peers, and earn points for engagement that can be redeemed for Gymshark merchandise.
APPLICATION FEATURES:
- HOME - Welcomes students with familiar imagery and explains the app's purpose of earning Sharkteeth, points used toward Gymshark gear.
- EVENTS - Displays a calendar of community events for students to attend and earn Sharkteeth.
- PROFILE- Tracks fitness based statistics and find workout tips and friends catered to your style.
- BUDDY UP - From a workout buddy to a study buddy. The Buddy Up feature is perfect in helping you find a friend around campus.
- SIGHTINGS - Tracks workout progress, establishes streaks, and earn sharkteeth; receive bonus points for wearing Gymshark merchandise in your sightings photos
EXPERIENTIAL CAMPAIGN
PROJECT SHARK WEEKGymshark will pilot a community-building program at Christopher Newport University by incorporating Gymshark into orientation week. The Sharkmates ambassador program will provide students with jobs and focus on curating community across the campus throughout the school year.
ORIENTATION BREAKDOWN FEATURES:
- SUNDAY SETUP - Sharkmates and tents will be stationed strategically throughout campus providing move-in assistance while wearing the Gymshark gear and promoting events coming up in the upcoming week.
- MONDAY MEETUP - Informational session that details the purpose of the Sharkmate program and their schedule for the semester’s Gymshark events. Complete with a Gymshark-sponsored Treasure Hunt that gets new sharks to explore the campus searching for hidden Gymshark logos.
- WEDNESDAY WELLNESS - The Gymshark community is for conditioning of all kinds - both physical and mental. Information will be pushed out via the Gymshark app on the importance of taking a rest day and documenting it via our app.
- FRIDAY FRENZY - The ultimate team building experience that brings the newly formed college community together. While the event is centered around an obstacle course it is complete with live music, Gymshark merch vendors, and food trucks.
Having the pleasure of working with such a talented & multi- disciplinary team of Art Directors, Strategists, Copywriters, and Creative Brand Managers I really got to focus on the application portion of this project as an Experience Designer.
I always start on paper. While this doesn’t show the whole process of ideations and more, it does however show the thought process I go through in creating an app to assist our strategy.
REFLECTIONS
- A brand is more than its products. Its community & impact is vital.
- Before you build out a prototype feature, focus on the purpose it serves.
- It is important to take advantage of all channels of communication.