The Children’s Hospital came to us with the challenge to design the new look and feel for the 2008 Courage Classic, a 3-day bike race through the Rocky Mountains that serves as a fundraiser for the The Children’s Hospital. We would be designing a POP display, poster, rider and volunteer manuals, trail maps, web icons, t-shirts and water bottles.
We were presented with the following design goals:
- Make the campaign stand out from the multitude of bike races in Colorado.
- Have the materials relate more to The Children’s Hospital branded look. (In years past, there was little or no tie from a design standpoint between the two.)
- Help them sell out 2,000 slots.
- Help them raise $3 million.
We designed the POP display to establish the concept for the entire campaign. Originally, the client insisted on using a photo from last year’s event and the established event logo (which they agreed wasn’t very strong and said that it would be changed in the next couple of years, but for now we were stuck with it).
Approved Concept
With this direction, we pushed the envelope by using an illustration instead of the photos and a large type treatment rather than a large logo. The client absolutely fell in love with the bright colors, which complement the established Children’s Hospital brand, and the gender-unspecific appeal of the design.
But here are 3 other designs that we felt were pretty great, but didn’t make the final cut.
Concept B
Our designer/avid cyclist, Spencer, had a great time designing this direction. He went with a more realistic approach, using photos of all of the gear that one would need for the ride paired with copy and typography reminiscent of a boxing match to give it a unique twist.
Concept C
With this direction, we wanted to satisfy the client’s request for the large photo and logo, but gave it bright colors and halftone pattern for a pop-art look and a unique die cut to help it stand out from the other cycling POPs it would have to compete with.
Concept D
The vintage photo treatment here gave the otherwise unoriginal photo a distinct look and worn, rugged feeling that we felt our target audience would be drawn to. And again, we went away from the logo and instead focused on large typography to clearly communicate the event and its details.
