Tails to Tell

Tails to Tell Offical Website

DESCRIPTION:

Tails to Tell is a charitable organization situated in Crossfield, Alberta, Canada, dedicated to the well-being of felines. They specialize in rescuing cats and kittens who are sick or abandoned, ensuring they receive essential veterinary attention, as well as offering them a safe haven, nourishment, and compassionate care until they find their forever homes. Their commitment to this cause is unwavering, and they operate as a not-for-profit charity entirely staffed by volunteers and funded by generous donations.

This is a collaborative project with my classmates aimed at practicing group work and collaboration with a company. In this case, we decided to assist Tails to Tell in undergoing a rebranding and organizing a social event to promote the brand and increase awareness.

CAST LIST:

Tzu-Lin Yang  -  Project manager,  Graphic designer
Mohammed El Mehdi Bouchefra  - Lead Graphic designer,  Copywrittor
David Virgilio Chavero - Photographer, Web designer, Competitor analyst
Taraneh Sadat Khodai - Graphic designer
Ryan Ngo - Social Media, Main Contact, Competitor analyst

BRAND COLOURS:

Pale Peach- HEX: #F7E6B1

Sunshade- HEX: #F1A41F

Orange Cat- HEX: #EF4E23

Green Pea- HEX: #155640

BRAND FONTS:

Headlines: Lilita One
Body Font: Quicksand ( Light / Regular / Medium / Semibold / Bold )
Support Font: Gamja Flower
( The support font should only be used as a support to other fonts, a best use case is speech bubble text )

BRAND LOGO:

Our brand logo embodies the spirit of 'Tails to Tell' with a playful and heartwarming design. The first 'T' in 'Tails' features a charming cat tail playfully emerging, while a delightful paw icon gently cradles the word 'to.' These elements, set against a backdrop of bright and cheerful colors, reflect the love, care, and joy that our shelter brings to feline friends in need. It's a symbol of our commitment to providing a safe and happy haven for cats, where every tail has a story to share.

LOGO VARIATIONS:

In addition to our main logo, our brand offers three distinctive variations, each tailored to specific use cases.

The primary full-color version is optimized for a light background, exuding vibrancy and joy in standard applications. For more refined and monochromatic needs, we provide a sleek black-and-white iteration, ensuring an elegant representation of our brand on various media. Additionally, we offer a compact logo variation, designed to serve as an icon or favicon. However, it is recommended to use this version sparingly as it does not feature the full 'Tails to Tell' name, making it ideal for instances where a more concise visual identity is required. These variations afford us the flexibility to maintain a strong and consistent presence across all communication channels, accommodating diverse design and branding requirements.

LOGO DO'S AND DON'TS:

> Do's:

It is essential to maintain the logo in its original form as delivered, without altering proportions or colors.

Additionally, always follow the specified logo spacing guidelines to present a clear and professional brand image.

> Don'ts:

Don't Alter Proportions: Avoid resizing the logo disproportionately, as it can distort its visual impact.

Don't Change Colors: Refrain from using unauthorized colors or altering the logo's color scheme.

Don't Crowd Spacing: Don't clutter the logo with other elements or text; respect the designated space around it for maximum impact.

BRAND STORY:

The story begins with Edna Jackson, who opened Critter's Pet Supply shop in Crossfield in 2006. She rescued a local stray named Thomas, who became their mascot. Over the next four years, Edna took in various abandoned animals, leading to the need for an animal shelter. With support from the community, friends, and family, Tails to Tell Animal Rescues Shelter Ltd. was established in September 2010. It's a registered charity in Alberta with a volunteer board overseeing operations. The shelter operates entirely with volunteers, ensuring that 100% of funds raised go towards caring for cats. Since opening, the shelter has helped over 4500 animals, thanks to supporters who donate funds and time volunteering or providing foster homes for needy animals.

BRAND MISSION:

At "Tails To Tail," our brand mission is to celebrate the boundless joy, love, and companionship that cats bring into our lives. We believe in the transformative power of the human-animal connection and aspire to create a world where every tail wags with happiness. Our vibrant and playful brand reflects our commitment to providing a safe haven for cats in need and a welcoming, uplifting environment for our community. With each colorful stroke and every cheerful element, we aim to inspire adoption, spread awareness, and foster a sense of togetherness that makes tails and hearts wag in unison.

-Design by Mohammed El Mehdi Bouchefra

WORK EXPLANATION:

In this project, my responsibilities encompass time management for the team, aiding in graphic design, and creating all illustrations associated with the brand. This involves curating an assets library, designing the brand mascot, developing illustration components for the game, and crafting various infographics.

Our collaboration with Tails to Tell has been exceptionally positive. Serving as our primary point of contact, Ms. Michele has proven to be a supportive and amiable individual, affording us a considerable degree of creative freedom to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Shelter. We propose rebranding strategies and promotional events to elevate their brand visibility and distinguish it within their respective industry.

ILLUSTRATIONS EXPLANATIONS:

Celebrate the charm of 'Tails To Tell' with our irresistible graphic elements! These delightful cat-inspired drawings are a go-to tool for creating captivating social media posts and other marketing materials.

> Purrfect Posts:

Incorporate these adorable icons into the social media graphics for an instant dose of cuteness. Place a playful paw print or a cat toy to add a touch of feline flair to your posts.

> Heartwarming Hashtags:

Pair our graphic elements with heartwarming captions and relevant hashtags to maximize their impact. These visuals are sure to make the posts stand out and connect with our audience.

> Kitty-themed Campaigns:

Create marketing materials like flyers and banners with these charming cat graphics. These visuals are a powerful way to convey our mission and draw attention to our cause.

PAIN POINTS & CHALLENGES:

During the all-time collaboration process, we faced some pain points and challenges with it and still tried our best to overcome all of that.

> Font Choosing with Canvas Friendly Usage:

Following the creation of the initial version of the brand identity, it became evident that the selected font was unavailable in Canvas, the chosen platform for enabling our client to modify our social media templates. Consequently, we undertook the task of identifying alternative fonts that align with the updated brand identity and are compatible with Canvas. This experience led me to discover various online tools capable of assisting users in finding comparable fonts.

> Lack of Information about the Mascot:

Tails to Tell features a significant cat named Thomas, who holds special importance as the owner's first cat and the inspiration behind the establishment of the shelter (for more details, refer to the story about Thomas here). The client expressed a specific desire for Thomas to serve as their brand mascot. However, the challenge arose as only two pictures of Thomas were available, making it difficult to accurately identify his color and pattern.

In the initial week of the Thomas design process, I crafted the first illustration based on one available picture. Edna, the owner of Tails to Tell, provided additional details, describing Thomas as a large, fluffy grey cat with brown, beige, and black markings, with grey being the dominant color. Subsequently, I received another picture of Thomas, albeit slightly overexposed, offering a clearer view of the grey color. I created a second illustration based on this new image, yet the client expressed dissatisfaction.

Faced with frustration, I embarked on extensive research into various cat breeds in an attempt to pinpoint the right depiction of Thomas. However, this approach yielded limited success. In a moment of insight, I realized that my newfound clarity on cat variations could be leveraged. If I couldn't precisely identify the accurate representation, why not illustrate all potential variations and allow the client to choose? This led to the conception of the promotional game, "Make My Cat's Avatar."

> Wide Variations Cats has:

Following the conceptualization of the game, I initiated the process by creating all the necessary components it required. As this marked my inaugural attempt at developing such a game, I found immense enjoyment in the production phase, accompanied by a substantial learning curve. However, given the extensive diversity among cat variations, capturing the entirety proved challenging within the constraints of time. Despite this, I diligently endeavored to illustrate as many variations as possible within the allotted timeframe.

One notable constraint surfaced concerning the application's scaling settings. To enable the scale-changing functionality for users, I found it necessary to provide images at twice the original size. Consequently, I focused on making the decorative aspects of the artwork scalable, given the imposed limitations.

Despite these challenges, I remain eager to enhance the user experience by incorporating additional cat variations. If feasible, I aspire to expand the selection further, affording users a broader array of choices for crafting their cat avatars.

Make My Cat's Avatar Game Website