Soak Up

Live brief with Discover Science Christchurch

Focus: Brand Identity, Naming, Tone of Voice

Team: Project completed with Rosie Dadswell and Abbie Coughlin

My Role: Logo concept, colour and identity, name, copywriting, advertising, tickets, uniform, merchandise

How can we make ocean science energising and inspiring for younger audiences?

The Challenge

Create a name and identity for a new immersive ocean science centre in Christchurch. By targeting families and school groups, the centre aims to inspire the next generation to pursue STEM and help fight climate change.

ocean science disciplines gif — Ocean science disciplines and topics

The Concept: Celebrating the Diversity of Ocean Science

The centre will showcase the incredible breadth of ocean science, so our identity needed to too. However, I recognised that all these topics could confuse and overwhelm the core audiences, so I distilled the centre's vision into four core aspects:

internal wayfinding signage — Internal wayfinding uses the four aspects to categorise exhibits and enable easy navigation. Signage visuals by Rosie Dadswell

themed collectible tickets — Themed collectable tickets help younger visitors relate to ocean science topics, and help teachers split their classes into groups

An Energising and Meaningful Name

The name ‘Soak Up - Ocean Discovery Lab’ encapsulates the centre’s vision; a dynamic, immersive experience that gets young people to soak up ideas and inspiration.

Staff ID cards — Personalised staff ID badges and job titles embody Soak Up’s playfully mischievious personality

Staff uniform, with a playful embroidered slogan on the back

Brand Personality: Playfully Mischievous and Excited to Discover

I crafted Soak Up's tone of voice to get through to groups which are notoriously difficult to engage, such as secondary school students. It breaks any preconceptions of science being stuffy, boring and difficult to relate to.

mugs — Soak Up's simple iconography and bright colours work well across merchandise items of all sizes. Pattern by Rosie Dadswell

Flexible Design System

Soak Up's abstract icons depict oscillating waves, idea sparks and microscopic marine creatures. The iconography and colour system enables the centre to tone up the oceanic, scientific or innovative look for different themed exhibitions.

The Reaction

The team at Discover Science Christchurch praised our identity design; calling it "so much fun" and stating "you just can't help but smile when you see it!".