Conceptual Project: CATS' HOME
Introduction
CATS' HOME is a small NPO (Non-Profit Organization) stationing in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The organization's mission is to rescue cats and find them a forever home. Despite stationing in the south region of the country, CATS' HOME's range of operation span across Japan.
In recent years, CATS' HOME has been steadily gaining popularity not only among the cat lovers in Japan but also among foreign tourists and travelers from across the globe, who are enthusiastic in felines. Hoping to expand its operations, CATS' HOME has proceeded to redesign its organization's main logo, website, and create an original product line to gather additional support for its annual operation fees.
Launched to accomplish the organization's set goals, Project: CATS' HOME consists of 4 main stages: Original character designing, Branding/Identity designing, Website designing, and Original product/apparel designing. Each stage will be explained in detail.
Hi, I'm Mochi!
At the first stage of the project, CATS' HOME expressed the need to design an original character for the organization. As an NPO, CATS' HOME wishes to connect with a wide audience and an original character is the quickest gateway to piquing a new visitor's interest.
After having discussed with the president of the organization, the project has decided to use the image of Mochi, the very first cat saved by CATS' HOME, as the base of this original character. Mochi is a loving Japanese Bobtail cat, who was active, grumpy, and a little naughty sometimes. Based on this image, the project has redesigned Mochi as a chubby, round cat using a Chibi-art style while creating a somewhat grumpy expression using traditional Japanese art styles. The design is available in two different versions: single-color and multi-color versions.
The Logo Design
With Mochi's design finalized, the project proceeded to its second stage: designing the organization's logo and identity system.
As project CATS' HOME not only concerns digital display but also analog display and actual printing on various media, the first step to designing the organization's Logo and Identity system is to define a color palette according to the PANTONE's standards. The chosen colors are: Warm Gray 1C, 691 C, 721 C, 4735 C, and 7540 C. These five colors come together to create a pastel and light-heart gradation, suitable for the nature of the project. In addition, Proxima Nova (designed by Mark Simonson) and Noto Sans CJK JP (Google) were chosen as the main fonts for the organization's Identity System, Website, and Product Lines.
After the palette has been defined, the project proceeded to design the logo. Understanding the organization's wish to create a modern, simple, yet attractive and carry a level of cuteness, the project has decided to employ sans-serif fonts as the base for the organization's name and rescale the letters such that they are in a better position. In addition, the project has also used a cat paw to replace the ' staying in between CATS and HOME.
Website Design (Organization Website)
Armed with a new logo, CATS' HOME is now set to proceed with the redesign of its old organization website. After 15 years of operation, CATS' HOME wished for its new website to be capable of maintaining a large amount of old media including images, photos, videos. That being said, the NPO also hoped to create a new and modern look to reflect its changes over the years as well as to celebrate its 15th anniversary.
To tackle this challenge, the project has adopted the one-page design style in addition to interactive galleries and transition animation while utilizing defined grids for adaptive designs. The project has also adopted a dark UI to allow photos, videos, and written content to pop off and leave deeper impressions on visitors. The designed website is available in two languages: Japanese and English.
Website Design (Foster Information)
After 15 years of operating, CATS' HOME's range of operation has expanded sufficiently large that the organization wished to separate its foster information website from the organization's site. As there are many information needed to be updated daily, CATS' HOME wished for its new foster information website to be easy for updating while maintaining high readability and ease-of-use.
To meet this expectation, the project has developed a separate website with a lighter design while devising a new grid-based system for easier image and information uploading. In addition, larger images are also used so as to allow users to have a closer look at the cats being sheltered at CATS' HOME while maintaining an easy-to-navigate appearance.
Original Merchandise Design
After having completed the two websites, the project proceeded to design original merchandise for CATS' HOME.
As an NPO, CATS' HOME hopes to develop an original product line, which will be used for charity and supporting the organization's operational fee, in addition to a product line, which will be used as the organization's identity. Consequently, the project has designed and developed two separate product lines, Light and Dark.
Used for gathering support for CATS' HOME, the Light product line focuses on utilizing Mochi, the NPO's original character, as the center subject in its design. Most of the designs for this product line feature light-heart, cute, and bright patterns, illustration, and catchphrases.
On the other hand, the Dark product line, which is used as the organization's identity, utilize darker and more modern designs as its main trend. In addition to the main logo, this product line also features original monotone patterns, which are modern and represent CATS' HOME's image.
This concludes the project. Thank you for your interest!
