Project: Pouch
For this college project, I was randomly assigned a brand to create a themed experience that synergized with another separate one. The brand I was assigned was Lorna Jane Activewear, an Australian women’s clothing and activewear company that at the time of the project (2022) was under some controversy. Lorna Jane prides itself on the company’s efforts in sustainability and conservation by extension, going so far as to use recycled materials and fabrics in their products in order to decrease their carbon footprint and environmental impact.
The controversy I mentioned before was from the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a rather sizable lawsuit and lead them to chapter 11 bankruptcy in the States. This means by the time I had to pick an experience inspired by their brand, Lorna Jane had begun the process of shutting down all of their locations in America. In order to make this project a little more grounded in reality, I chose an Australian company, Taronga, which has a small chain of high quality zoos in New South Whales, Australia, for Lorna Jane to synergize with. Taronga is also known for their environmental efforts, housing local Australian wildlife who’s habitats become more and more threatened, as well as providing unique, personal experiences for their guests.
The experience I chose to move forward with was a yoga class within the Marsupial paddock at the Australian section of Taronga’s Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, NSW. In this experience, guests would be lead in a yoga class by the “Zooru” (zookeeper + Guru) while accompanied by the adorable, pouched inhabitants of the paddock, such as Wombats, Wallabies, Koalas, and Quokkas. This project from start to finish took 4.5 weeks of class. The design intent package took around 5 days in total to make. Below is the design intent package I delivered for this project, including the model and measurements of the hut structure, Zooru hat design, yoga mat design, water bottle design, and a folding sign design, as well as 3 exclusive Lorna Jane outfits to be sold by the zoo.
