Wimbledon Brewery UI – This project was carried out through a local agency based in Wimbledon. After some initial meetings and discussions with the agency Director, I was commissioned to come up with an early proof of concept for a new website idea for Wimbledon Brewery. It was to pitch a new idea.
I was commissioned for only the ideas and visualisation stages of the project. My part was to come up with a new UI ( user interface ).
In this post, I wanted to share both my involvement, and some of the processes to create for this project.
Gathering Research | Working With The Brief
At first, I went over the brief with my client and discussed the limitations or any important criteria that would affect the project.
After collecting together all of the information for the project, I then set about gathering some additional research and ideas. This could range anything from looking at recommended drinks companies, looking at competitor websites to seeing what we could learn. And browsing Pinterest to name a few.
What was important – was that the brand image of the company was sustained. The UI design needs to stand on its own two feet with the brand being seamlessly integrated.
Roughing Out Ideas
Once some of the initial research was collected together, I then set about putting together the low-fidelity visuals and ideas to share and discuss.
Initial Design & UI Kit Pieces
Bit by bit, I started to put together some initial designs for the various components on the page. For example boilerplates, brand accents, information cards, and the main navigation amongst other important pieces of content.
The design process and the idea generation were created modularly. Key components were examined in close detail before committing them to a polished design and compiled into pages in their entirety.
Proof Of Concept | ( POC )
After the various stages of discussion and mutual brainstorming with the client. I then started to put together some complete and polished visuals for the early proof of concept for a new website.
*This was put together for illustration purposes only
Or if you would like to see what this project was about, read on!
The Project | Graphic Design Project For A Party Board Game
Graphic Design Project For A Party Board Game. From the get-go, this project was a fun commission. I really enjoyed working with the client and the project offered plenty of room for ideas and scope. It was a topic that suited me and my interests.
I’m glad for the day that message came into my inbox!
Graphic Design Project For A Party Board Game Photo supplied by client
The client had already established the core game mechanics and had already written the phrases for the cards and how the game should be played. In later stages of development, they found playtesters for the prototype to see how the game really played too!
So, I had a general idea for the tone of the game from the outset based on early emails & conversations.
I spoke to the client and asked a bit about the target market and who it was for. I carried out some research of my own and started to come up with some very rough and ready ideas and sketches for what we could do with the game.
This helped to get the old design juices flowing!
These were then presented to the client for consideration. I and the client then decided what would work best for the project.
We came to a conclusion!
Design, Illustration & Art Direction
Once we were both suitably even more excited about the project, I got to it. I started to draw some of the early ‘look and feel’ for the cover art, the cards typography and other elements of the game.
I wanted this project to do well for my client as I like my loyal clients to do well.
In terms of the design.
I tried to make it so that the project not only pleased the client but the design and illustration for the project to please the brief! And ultimately, pleases the customer…
And.
In turn.
ALSO pleases the client and fulfills a brief. Hopefully a win-win all around.
( Whoever said design was easy?)
Design & Prototype
Typically, my main part in board game design is in the visual design, concept, and in the creation of the ‘art’ for a game. A lot of this comes from my background in marketing and design and product creation for big retailers. (The old days! )
Generally, in the back of my head, I’m abiding by what the big retailers like to see and sell when they look at a box. This is based on years of feedback from sales pitches and remarks across a range of products in my former employment.
While I’m keeping this in mind. I am also trying to make an independent and unique game for my client.
Varying from brief to brief, I have, on a few projects helped to get a prototype printed for a client.
This involved formatting the artwork according to the printer or factory requirements. In other words, the dielines were either pre-existing or supplied by the factory.
I then put the artwork together according to what was asked.
This is typically an additional process for me that comes after or during designing the initial look and feel for a game – if requested.
When working on a prototype – once the core artwork is made. It can be a case where I will need to adjust the size to fit the spec of the printer/machine for the manufacturer.
It is also noting that the manufacturer or client may wish to change parts on a project such as this. This can be due to what the client requires…. and costs!
I would also suggest that concentrating money and energy into the design look, feel and messaging and getting people to want to pick up your game should be the priority.
I obsess less on where it is made or by who. My part is trying to create something that somebody remembers and thinks they would like to play.
The software was my tool for the job, like a mason has a chisel and a plumber has a wrench! Adobe Software is my toolkit, as it is with most graphic or digital designers of the modern profession.
For those that are less familiar with graphic design jargon.
Once these had been created, based on the template files downloaded/supplied, I dropped the semi-polished artwork into them in either Indesign or Adobe Illustrator. ( I didn’t create the die lines remember )
That was pretty much it for the tools. OR in other words.
Tools :-
Pencil
Paper
Video Call Software
Open Office Word
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Indesign
I think a big part of what helped this project was the collaboration and the working relationship between myself and the client.
Without that…
The rest is just stuff!
Project Challenges | board game creation
London Pub Crawl was not without challenges – many things worth making will come with a challenge. And many journeys to creating something new will be unique.
You are creating something from nothing.
The creative path is not set and is not certain, it is not a commodity either so it can be tricky to weigh and measure.
A lot of the process is an exploration in getting something that fulfils the brief – or at least that is my approach.
From my clients’ standpoint, as is often the case, I would say a quiet challenge can be the rules. Rules often increase the more they playtest the game. And as the rules expand and increase more needs to be added.
In this case, this went from being a single sheet of paper to a small booklet because that is what the rules ultimately needed to work properly.
But I would say in the grand scheme of things – this was a good thing. Selling a game with weak rules or broken mechanics is a very bad move with board game creators.
A game where the visual design or theme disguises or distracts the player from poorly written rules is a negative experience for both the player and creator.
Not saying that my client’s rules were badly written!
They were good! But as you playtest a game it often becomes apparent that the rules need to evolve.
I have played games – or attempted to play, where the rules are just unintelligible! These ruined an otherwise excellent ‘looking’ game.
Pay attention to the rules and be prepared to offer them the TLC they deserve!
** If you don’t do this, you are begging for backlash later on. **
A negative for the board game developer in the long run.
MVP | Game & The Rules!
Don’t go with the ‘just ship it’ approach or minimum viable product on the rules. You need to write rules so that players can understand how the game works. Add a FAQ to the game rules too if you can. Although, this may not come until later editions.
The more established the rules are earlier on. The easier it is to establish how much will be involved in designing the rules and putting the content together.
Write as much as you can from the get-go before commissioning artists or designers – if you can!
*My client also asked me to add that they were thankful that I helped on the budget and managed expectations – they were very welcome!
A Complete Prototype | Graphic Design Project For A Party Board Game
Going further than just offering graphic design for party board games, I want myself and my client to create a good thing. I can say with comfort that The London Pub Crawl is something I am proud to have been a part of.
And my client should be proud in believing that they have created something that others will get laughs from and will enjoy. And not just enjoy looking at ( I hope they like looking at it too )
It’s about the whole experience.
I playtested the game – we all enjoyed it! The reaction you get from others when you hand them a polished game and watch them get all excited does give you a warm buzz.
Where will they take it?
Maybe to retail, but for now ( at the time of writing ) they are hoping to create a crowdfunding campaign ( link to their FB page!) and get it out there on Kickstarter.
I should say this too!
I’m not an ambassador for my client.
What they may or may not do is down to the client but you may wish to take a look and see what may come about in the future.
I enjoyed working on this project and I enjoyed helping to design a Kickstarter story to go along with it. I wish them all the best in the campaign!
For more information on this project, you can visit their ( website ).
If you would like me to design a cover, cards or the main artwork for a board game prototype. Feel free to get in touch.
Testimonial From Mad Dawg Games LTD – Graphic Design Project For A Party Board Game
“The creative effort put in by Jimm was above and beyond what I would have expected when I was looking for a designer.
Throughout the project, Jimm was very professional in that he was open and honest about the deliverables, the project timeline, and the budget as it developed.
Without Jimm, I wouldn’t have the amazing artwork, but I wouldn’t have had his creative contributions to the project which has had a major impact in shaping the game from its original core ideas into a conceptually and visually awesome-looking board game!”
Mad Dawg Games LTD
Project Posts | Graphic Design Project For A Party Board Game
Over the years I have been involved in designing retail kiosk design and exhibition trade stand design.
These projects have ranged from a sketch, an initial design, to a full design plan and document.
This portfolio post covers my portfolio involving: trade stand design, a retail kiosk example, creative ideas for show stands, and other project parts around stand and retail design.
This post focuses very much so as a portfolio piece as opposed to a ‘how to create’.
Blue Water Retail Kiosk | Portfolio Project
I wanted to share a live project that I been given the honour of designing and co-designing.
This is a retail kiosk example that was built at the Blue Water shopping centre.
The aim of the kiosk was to sell products to customers from the main walkway. It was also a good brand-building exercise too.
What started as an idea around a fictional theme became part and parcel of both the form and function of the kiosk. The story was built into the visual appearance of the function kiosk.
The theme was based around a “gadget warehouse” and colour with branding.
Retail Kiosk Example from Bluewater Shopping Centre (Design)
Before committing to a finalized design of the kiosk, I drew a concept illustration. This Illustration was used to show what we intended to do with the kiosk.
My role covered: collaboration with the team, sketching ideas, discussion of ideas, 2D concept illustration, various portrayals. The detailed design plan.
Trade stand & exhibition design projects
Tradeshow and ‘stand’ design projects.
The projects shown below were created by myself whilst working in-house with an energetic and creative team!
The aim of the exhibition stand or tradestand was to win businesses and display the product lines.
These stands were used in international trade shows – predominantly in gifting and electronics.
A concept I was allowed to direct and run with was the gadget factory. (Thanks MD’s)
The exhibition design differed from the kiosk design in that, the trade stand needed to be geared towards businesses. And international businesses from a wide array of countries. (Business 2 Business).
But the core idea was much the same.
Engage the users, promote the brand, and sell a product.
For the trade stand that was used in the Harrogate gift show, I designed the podiums to suit the products whilst maintaining links to the brand.
The wall stickers were created by my colleague and fellow designer.
Harrogate Gift Show
The product displayed was for a range called Idesign. More can also be read on the app design in this post.
The idea for the trade stands
From memory, the idea for The Gadget Factory came from a certain degree of truth. The gadgets – the products and electronics came from factories in China. This was part and parcel of how the business sourced products to sell.
The truth was stylized – but it was still the truth – in essence. The concept for the kiosk, the exhibition stand, and in particular – the Gadget Factory was based around where how the products were found.
The actual origin and story of the brand narrative are not that far removed from reality. The theme was applied to the form, function, and style of all the retail units shown in one way or another over the span of a couple of years.
Kiosk Design, Vector Illustration, and Creative Direction
I still regard myself as being professionally fortunate in that I managed to get my feet wet on this set of projects!
These projects were my early foray into Creative Direction and conceptual design whilst designing, illustrating and collaborating on the project.
Thank you for taking the time to look at this Kiosk and Exhibition stand post. All of the artwork and branding are Copyrighted. They cannot be used for commercial purposes.
You can look at how design a kiosk here. Or get in touch if you would like any help in designing a kiosk or exhibition stand for your business.
I would like to take this time to thank everybody that was involved. And thank you for allowing me to spread my creative wings!
I have written a helpful post on “how to design a retail kiosk in steps“. This post is to show a visual close up of what was involved in creating a kiosk in one of the larger shopping centres in the South East of England.
And, to show you some other examples of what a kiosk is.
A good question to ask yourself? What is a retail kiosk or kiosk store, and what are they for is answered directly below.
What is a kiosk?
A kiosk, or a retail kiosk, is a freestanding booth, installation, or cabin that is typically positioned in areas of high footfall.
You will often find retail kiosks positioned in:-
Shopping centres
Malls
Near areas of busy public transport such as train and bus stations
Tourist attractions
Festivals
Sports events
A kiosk (or retail kiosk) is a low-cost way of establishing a market presence and selling products to customers.
Retail kiosks are often used to sell consumer goods such as; food, beverages, accessories, merchandise, and help shoppers and tourists.
From a design and build perspective, kiosks are (typically) easier to build and remove opposed to shops.
Kiosks can be manned by one or two people.
A kiosk can be anything from a portable shack or shed – to a fiberglass cabin. Or something more bespoke and novelty, depending on budget and requirements.
Retail Kiosk Examples
There many examples of retail kiosks out there including the one I co-designed here in this post (further down).
Below is a written list of kiosk examples you may find.
Icecream booths are often seen at beaches and seaside areas.
Burger shacks are kiosks you can see in a variety of places (market places).
Information kiosks are often self-service units used to help to find your way around.
Health and beauty kiosks are often seen in the main walkways of shopping malls.
Tourist information kiosks will either be a self-service or typically have an assistant operating from within. You will often find these near entrances and lobby areas.
Electronics, Smartphone accessory kiosks tend to operate in medium-sized malls. These booths will often sell cases and offer repairs.
General consumer goods kiosk. There is often a range of kiosks that will sell anything from belt-buckles to cookies.
Example drawings of kiosks (ideas)
Below is a range of kiosk examples and ideas to give you some guidance and inspiration.
Booth Kiosk or prefabricated type!
An interesting shape for good access and visibility of products.
Robot Kiosk!
A gigantic bread bin as an example of eccentric kiosk design.
Photographic Examples Of Kiosks
A mood board of kiosk photographs to show you what a kiosk can be. And, potentially give some ideas with the literal examples!
What is a kiosk store?
What is a kiosk store? A kiosk store is a kiosk or booth that concentrates on selling to consumers in a retail environment.
If you want to sell products from a booth or freestanding shack, these would be considered as “kiosk stores”. Also known as kiosk shops or derivatives of.
A kiosk store can be mass-made and modular by design, or it can bespoke. It all depends on what is required for space and how you want to create your kiosk. Budget, brand, and products will also affect your kiosk store.
The difference between a “kiosk” and a “kiosk store” is its intent. The kiosk store will aim to sell a product.
Is a retail kiosk profitable?
Whether a kiosk is profitable comes down to the kiosk design, the products, and where the kiosk is positioned? It can also depend on the mall.
Smaller shopping centres such as the ones found at services tend to have lower of footfall. This is due to the fact they have shops aimed toward for convenience instead of dedicated retail shopping.
Large shopping centres such as the ones in Westfields in London are likely to have a much larger footfall. It is to check whether an area for your kiosk will be profitable.
Yes, a retail kiosk can be profitable. You must sell products customers want to buy. You should also look for ways to reduce your overheads and spending to make a profit from your Kiosk.
From a design perspective, using premade or prefabricated elements for the kiosk or booth will lower the cost and potentially increase profit margins.
Bricks and mortar stores and the ailing high-street
I would like to be truthful here and mention that retail, in recent years has had a rough time economically. A kiosk instead of a shop can be a great way of testing a product. If the booth and product is a success. You can then consider creating shop installation – if your kiosk is profitable.
I believe some businesses are harder to emulate online, such as services, things you can smell and taste for example.
Designing a kiosk takes planning and thought. You will need to consider the floor space, how to store products. What will go where? Positioning…
“This theme offered a lot for creative freedom with cogs, gears, machines etc – it was easy to turn these into functioning assets.”
The design below used all of the methodologies mentioned throughout this post.
Example of a kiosk in Bluewater
The kiosk was designed to be eye-catching and fun! We wanted to pull the users in from the main walkways and look at the products.
The illustration was used as an early look and feel for the kiosk. An idea for design intent. “proof of concept”. the proof of concept would have been shown to the landlords for early approval.
thanks team!Product close up
Branded wooden fascias.
The idea of the Kiosk design
The kiosk design above was built upon a previous design that was as themed in the branding and marketing – The Gadget Factory.
The Gadget Factory was a brand story and backdrop that that was created to frame and style certain product ranges.
This theme offered a lot for creative freedom with cogs, gears, machines etc – it was easy to turn these into functioning assets. Neither was It was a stretch to transfer the concept to the kiosk.
These installations turned a few heads at shows. So, we wondered if this would translate to a kiosk?
We tweaked the design a little bit from a factory as this was a theme we’d used for a couple of years.
What would have been attached to the factory?
Warehouse and cargo.
So we really suped-up the whole import-export idea to the next level. I used the brand styling onto the boxes and theme.
The form and function of the kiosk was an important step for the kiosk design process. When designing some of the rough plans in with the look and feel, I considered how it would actually work and sell the products.
For example, how would a customer interact? How would the product be stored overnight? Where it was placed.
And generally, how would the kiosk be built!
We needed an idea, even if the main building wasn’t left to me (us).
These were all important steps in the Kiosk design. And hence, this is why the cargo wooden boxes tied in. They were modular, easy to stack, looked intentional. And could be painted easily.
Conclusive Answer – what is a kiosk? Retail kiosk example
A kiosk is a freestanding booth, cabin or shack that is temporarily built, positioned, or installed. Kiosks are often found in walkways of shopping malls and retail centres. You will often find a kiosk in national parks, markets, and tourist spots too.
A retail kiosk is a great way of promoting a brand or selling a product without having to spend a fortune. You can also source ready-made kiosks which are often made from fibre glass.
Where to get retail kiosk example ideas?
The kiosk displayed above is an example of a retail outlet I co-designed. You can refer to the illustration for ideas kiosk examples. Another good place to find examples of kiosks is Pinterest.
What is a “kiosk store?” ( In Detail )
Still confused as to what a kiosk store actually is? It’s not a shop or not quite a stall.
What is a kiosk store? A Kiosk is a booth, cabin or shack or outlet in which you can serve or help customers.
A kiosk store is a pop-up or temporary stand in which you can sell products or merchandise. Kiosks are not permanent fixtures although they can be integrated with the environment.
The merits of the kiosk store are that you can sell a range of products and merchandise. You can test the market before committing to a permanent shop or longer lease.
You may get a kiosk that has a lease for 3 months 6 months or a year. It comes down to how much pay the landlord for a lease on your store.
Being flexible and not fixed to a long term contract is another potential advantage to a kiosk store or shop.
Getting started on creating a pop-up kiosk store
Below is a shortlist of helpful tips to get you started on your first pop kiosk store! These are especially helpful if you are new to creating your own kiosk and are in the early stages of starting up your brand.
Thank you for taking the time to look at the retail kiosk example
The retail kiosk example that I worked on, was created by myself and my past colleagues. My main role in kiosk creation was the design stage.
This particular kiosk design came after a few years of designing stands and installations. Many of these designs were used at international tradeshows for gifting and electronics.
My primary roles in this kiosk design were:
Conceptualisation and visualization in Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator
Designing marketing collateral to promote products at the kiosk
Liaising with retail and kiosk manufacturers.
I hope that this post has helped to answer what a retail kiosk is. What an example of a kiosk is ( Bluewater project ). And a couple of sketchy ideas for kiosk and booth designs.
Helpful tips for kiosk design, ideas, and creating a product
This project is an example of a Snakes and Ladders board game that I had the privilege in being involved in creating!
Many elements of this game, uses the Snakes & Ladders mechanics and adds additional aspects to the gameplay.
Additional elements included items such as game cards and collectible tokens. Or to be specific, Bones! Which were needed to complete the game and the end of the player journey.
You will find this post helpful if you are looking for ideas and inspiration to create or commission your own Snakes and ladders styled game.
I will cover my creative process and journey in helping to bring my client’s passion project to life – here is an example of a snakes and ladders type game. Which I had the pleasure of helping to create!
Or, as it was actually called in the end.
DINO BREAK
Creating a Snakes & Ladders type game
It is unfair to say that this is only a Snakes & Ladders game.
For example, when you play Snakes and Ladders, you roll a dice and move around the board trying to dodge the snakes and use the ladders as shortcuts.
With Dino Break, the game combines both challenging questions and token collection to win the game.
When the player lands on the spaces around the board, You ( the player ) must take a card from the deck and read aloud the questions which are themed around dinosaurs (palaeontology).
If the player gets the question correct, they take a token.
You need 6 tokens to win the game and free your friend.
This is an example of what can be done with Snakes & Ladders as a framework and adding to it.
To create the Dino Break game, including the mechanics of the game. It borrowed many of the gameplay elements from snakes and ladders and pushed it to new levels.
Extra parts were added to the game including cards, questions, points, and ‘nasty cards’ that cost the player points.
Examples of the complete prototype game
This is the printed prototype of the game complete with the outer box, game board, cards, rules, and tokens.
The look and the feel for the game were established once the core design had been created.
The narrative for Dino Break
Most of the core mechanics of the game were already supplied to me before I itemised what was needed for this jailbreak/snakes and ladder-type game.
Part of my core roll for this game was the creation of the game narrative. I created a story that would be told through the visuals and character design for the game. – The theme.
It was already established that the players would need to save or free a creature at the end of the game to win.
In order to win the game and free the prisoner, something would need to be collected throughout the game. Tokens, that would represent points.
This allowed for plenty of room for experimentation and the direction of the visual narrative. I took down the path of cartoon prehistoric.
Characters for the game | the players
The other part of my involvement in the making of this game was in creating character concepts. As an extra layer, I suggested that there should be a ‘good team’ and ‘bad’ team.
Protagonist and antagonist.
By default, you would assume that a bloodthirsty Dinosaur would be a villain. A big toothy dinosaur that eats little friendly dinosaurs or cave people!
I wanted to make this breakout game a bit different. Instead of villainous creatures. I made the cavemen the villains and the Dinosaurs the friendly ones – or the hunted!
The Players | The Crazy Saurs
As part of the game, I came up with 4 different playable characters ( and 2 blank playing cards ) in which you can play as any of the 4 different Dinosaurs or … Crazy Saurs
The Friendly Saur is the character you need to save from the cavemen. Collect the 6 tokens to free the Friendly Saur. As with the other designs, this character was sketched out and drawn in Adobe Illustrator as part of my contracting service.
The Cave Man
The cavemen were the villains of the peace in this game. I wanted to cast them as villainous thugs that wanted nothing more than to make Dino soup!
A “very rough” post-it note prototype of the game was sent emailed to me to inspect and decide and the best course of action.
I broke project down into manageable stages. Considering how I would need to achieve x y z on a budget.
Once the core goal was agreed. I set about roughing out the concept for the characters and the look and feel for the game.
Some minor suggestions were offered to the “mission” of the game. How to win.
With the concept, I took it as a snake and ‘laddersesque’ game and considered what we could do differently from a design standpoint. Everybody knows Snakes and Ladders – but what could be done differently.
I offered a range of ideas for the core components. Here is a rough list of core components for the game prototype.
Dino Break rough components and cutting list
Create the characters and character cards
Playing cards
Rules
Tokens
Game board
Top of game box
Bottom of game box
Other bits and pieces
For milestones for the clients and to keep everybody as involved as possible. I showed the project to the clients to keep them in the loop.
I polished the design until it was complete.
Once the visual design was complete along with the flat mockup, I sent the game artwork away to be printed.
Example of Snakes and Ladders board game – Dino Break
This game allowed me to flex my design muscles and jump in with both feet.
You may also feel inspired by this board game example to create your own project.
Thank you for reading.
"I was very impressed with the work itself and your designs were exactly what me and the child had in mind.
You kept to deadlines and were very punctual and took on board any amendments and got these done quickly.
You were a great businessman but also a fantastic person to work with. And you should be proud of the service you provided as you made one little boy's dreams come true." - Anonymous. (Dino break)
If you would like to read more on board game design related articles you can do so by following the links below.
This article is an example of an educational snakes and ladders board game. All content design, cards, characters are copyright to their respective owners. DO NOT STEAL THIS ARTWORK or claim this game as your own.
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