Concept Ideation -
It’s About The Journey

In this section I wanted to highlight the evolution of a concept. For this particular project, a small team of designers were pulled together to elevate the clearance “tent events” for Dick’s Sporting Goods. There was a small budget and a quick turnaround. A small important note is that some stores have a tent outdoors in the parking lot and some stores have to keep clearance inside.

1. Research - within the parameters of the project, I immediately knew I wanted to go for a bold concept. The challenge to keep in mind is the small budget. The more I was researching how other companies elevated a campaign or experience with a small budget, the more a theme or term forms to dive into - guerilla marketing. Guerrilla marketing is using surprising and/or unconventional tactics to elevate a brand or campaign. This article shows some great examples!

2. Branding the event - We collectively decided to take the event and elevate it with it’s own “brand” that’s different from the rest of the store using logo, colors, etc. We individually designed some quick ideas around a logo and chose one to move forward with. I want to make sure to note the logo chosen I did not personally design, a very talented teammate by the name of Devon Spec did.

3. I was drawn to the idea of using stencils and chalk for event. The benefits are its low cost and it’s not permanent, so when the event is over, the chalk washes away. The chalk theme was applied to the rest of the clearance event branding with the texture and look being added to the signage as well. The signage designer on the team created a stencil template of the logo. Kits were created and sent to the stores.

The results of this project are below and have been used for several years thereafter. It’s been used in newspaper tabs, direct mailers, etc. Some projects require more conceptualizing and research, some less. I wanted to scratch the surface on the work involved in designing a solution to a brief.