EXPLORATION:
MOOD BOARD:
PROJECT BRIEF & PROCESS
Client:
The client for this project will be the Boy Scouts of America. They were founded back in 1910 with their headquarters residing in Irving, Texas. Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States and they have been very successful in the industry, helping and training thousands of youths for many generations. They are focused on training youths in responsible citizenship, character development, self-reliance through various activities ranging from outdoor activities such as camping and hiking to educational and career oriented programs. Boys as young as seven start the organization as cub scouts where the program is more driven on teaching Scouting values such as trustworthiness, good citizenship and outdoor skills.
The focus here, for this product, will be generated toward the younger cub scouts and their troop leaders. Much of the industry in scouting is focused on outdoor activities so retail that caters to these hobbies, outdoor and sporting goods retailers, will be the main competition. The upper hand that we have is that we will be selling a book that has content specifically would help these youths in their endeavors as well as be easy to get access to.
Project Information:
The idea is to translate one topic from the space on the pages of The Dangerous Book for Boys or The Daring Book for Girls to an engaging learning experience that facilitates the understanding of the topic. The topic in question is about Essential Gear. There are eleven essential items that one must always have on their person. These items include: the swiss armiy knife, compass, handkerchief, box of matches, a shooter (marble), needle & thread, pencil & paper, small flashlight, magnifying glass, Band-Aids and fishhooks. One can never be too careful and should always have these items ready at a moments notice, always be prepared.
As far as design goes; it will have a vintage/indie tone. It will be similar feel to a pocket survival guide, but one that has simple images and short explanations, playing on that old 60s/70s Boy Scouting/ Camping guide. The colors will be in shades of rust, blue and cream to help the design feel vintage but also boyish. The images will reflect more of an illustrative approach in the form of small icons to help represent the information/gear and progress the concept.
Project Goal:
The main problem is finding the best method to get this guide into the hands out our target audience, the Boy Scouts of America. There will be several opportunities in the near future though since the BSA is a strong organization and hold meetings all across the United States. We can easily become a sponsor to one of their events and bring free samples of the guide for the boys to take home. With a simple, easy design of the booklet should get the information to the audience and spread among the organization.
The main requirement will include having a publishing company in order to print our books efficiently. The booklet is only a few pages so the cost will be kept down and it shouldn’t take long to print the books.
Project Logistics:
The final product will be a booklet consisting of approximately twenty four pages that will demonstrate the eleven Essential Gear that one must always have on their person. It will be printed in color, as previously stated, focused on a color scheme of rust, blue and creams; reflecting a vintage and boyish tone.
The team will consist of one main designers to put everything together and will have close to four weeks to get the design complete and refined. The budget will be low but the cost shouldn’t be much since we will be utilizing one main designer and the book is only twentyfour pages. The end result will have the dimensions of 5x8”
AUDIENCE PERSONA:
Erin is a loving father, but he works a full time job occasionally with overtime. He works for the Johnson Co. law firm of Omaha Nebraska. Erin desperately tries to spend as much time as he can with his son, Josh, but sometimes it is really difficult for him because of his demanding job.
Josh is ten years old and lately all he has been talking about at home is the Boy Scouts. His schoolmate and best friend Trevor attends the meetings twice a week with his father; Trevor gets to tell Josh all sorts of exciting stories to Josh at school about what he and his fellow Scouts do.
Erin finally finds some time to take Josh to a meeting; Erin knows this will be a good way for the two to spend some quality time together. The meeting is on a Friday night and the Erin and Josh are warmly welcomed into the Troop. To Erin’s surprise, the Troop is getting ready to go on a camping trip next weekend, it is the first weekend in May and the weather is perfect. Josh is incredibly excited, Trevor has been with the troop for a while and one of Josh’s favorite stories is about their camping trips. Erin doesn’t want to disappoint Josh, so he agrees they can go with the Scouts next weekend, although to Erin’s dismay, he and Josh know absolutely nothing about camping. They have had hardly any time to prepare and learn about camping and the outdoors since they have only been to one meeting. Erin’s worry is all over his face when another father in the troop comes over and hands Erin the book; the Essential Gear. The man reassures Erin that the Troop will help in anyway they can and that this book is perfect for introducing people to what they need. Erin has a sigh of relief as he thanks the man, flipping through the book he notices it is easy to read and would something Josh can look through and understand as well.
