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What has Chinese brand Area 51 made of Australia?
What has Chinese brand Area 51 made of Australia?
The ship in search of joy has arrived in Australia - Brisbane
A journey full of surprises and fun is about to begin
Are you ready to join us?
Brisbane is the capital and third largest city of Queensland, Australia. It is located in the eastern part of Australia, with a total area of 15,800 square kilometers and a population of about 2.7 million. It has a humid subtropical monsoon climate, which is warm and comfortable.
▲Image Source Web
It has a well-developed economy, with grain and milk-based agriculture, diverse industries, and the largest river port. It is also the largest river port. Rich in education resources, there are famous universities such as the University of Queensland. Brisbane has many tourist resources, such as South Bank Park, which was the site of the World Expo, Brisbane City Hall, which is the symbol of the city, and the proximity to the Gold Coast. It will host the Summer Olympics in 2032.
▲ Image Source Web
Before Chinese New Year, Area 51, a brand founded by Brisbane's local Chinese entrepreneur Jason Wang, opened its doors. Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner and Logan Mayor Jon Raven were invited to visit the venue, and the Chinese brand Area 51 came out of the ring once again.
Since its debut, the newly opened Area 51 Sports Park has become a popular leisure and entertainment destination in the area. In order to ensure that every customer enjoys quality service and has the ultimate play experience, the park management team has had to take on-site flow restriction measures according to the actual situation, trying to find the perfect balance between hustle and bustle and order.
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』Live Photos
It's no coincidence that the new Area 51 is a hit, but it's a sign of things to come. It's the second location for Chinese entrepreneur Jason Wang, who started out in the restaurant business and then got into the amusement industry by chance.
In 2022, he founded Australia's largest indoor amusement park, Area 51, which spans nearly 10,000 square meters and offers a wide range of entertainment for all ages. From fun-filled bouncy castles and courage-testing aerial trails, to physically challenging rock climbing and a naughty castle for kids, to food and beverage services, the park has it all.
▲Area 51 created in 2022
The park also offers a special Chinese Kung Fu class, which is a unique and fun experience for local residents.
▲Area 51 created in 2022
With the vision of making the Chinese brand famous in Australia, Jason Wang decided to open a second Area 51 store, which is our case study in this issue. Jason Wang wanted to optimize and upgrade the brand in all aspects compared to the first store, so he approached Elephant Sculpture Art Co,.(ESAC), hoping to leverage Elephant Art's expertise to revamp Area 51's visual presentation and play experience.
So what are the specific initiatives Area 51 has taken to revolutionize and upgrade its brand? Let's find out.
The first step of the innovation is to optimize the brand visual system. ESAC designer has upgraded the LOGO, brand color, IP, and venue logo according to the original image, and added a story background for the brand to make it more storytelling.
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』VIS Design Drawing
Background: In a distant planet, there is a group of aliens who like to explore the universe, one day, they came to Earth and found that the children here neglect outdoor activities because of dull cell phone games, in order to help the children, this group of aliens built a sports park, hoping that the children can put down their cell phones and enjoy the joy of sports.
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』VIS Design Drawing
At first, the children were hesitant, but soon they were fascinated by the park and fell in love with the sport as a result. The aliens were happy to see the change in the children and decided to stay and let more children enjoy the fun of the sport.
To match the background of the story, ESAC's designers creatively upgraded the brand's original alien image by designing a number of various aliens, which have become Area 51's new mascots.
Before IP Upgrade
IP upgraded
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』VIS Design Drawing
The second step of the brand upgrade is to upgrade the overall vision and experience of the space, and extend the design of the space according to the optimized brand vision. “With the theme of cosmic exploration, Area 51 Sports Park uses modeling, lighting and other techniques to create an immersive sports park full of sci-fi atmosphere, making visitors feel as if they are on an intergalactic adventure.
Located in the Garden City Shopping Center, Area 51 Sportland is designed to maximize the advantages of its location by having separate entrances at the street level and inside the mall, making it easy for visitors to enter the space quickly.
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』Aerial view of design
# Street level entrances
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』Design Drawing-Front of House
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』Live Shooting-Front door
The street area has a high flow of people and is a key area to attract visitors. The designers took the spaceship as the inspirational prototype to develop the in-depth design, adopting smooth lines and structures to present the agility and futuristic feeling of the spaceship.
At the same time, in order to further strengthen the sci-fi atmosphere, the designer paired with ice blue luminous light bar. Ice blue hue not only gives people a deep, mysterious visual feeling, and the universe theme complements, but also in the light of the illumination, the door shape is more three-dimensional and layered.
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』design drawings-service desk
In the spatial design of the service lobby, the designers use dynamic text light strips to inject vitality and dynamism into the space with rhythmic flashes and changes. At the same time, the wall is hollowed out so that customers can quickly see the rich and varied game programs in the front hall, stimulating their interest in experiencing them.
# Entrance to the mall
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』Design Drawing-Front of House
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』Live Shooting-Front door
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』design drawings-service desk
In the design of the entrance of the mall, the designer focuses on the creation of a sense of atmosphere and socialization at the entrance. Through the integration of brand and IP elements, a number of special landscape points are set up to attract visitors to stop and take photos, create interactive spaces for visitors, and effectively enhance brand communication and visitors' social experience.
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』Design-Shoe-changing area
The design of the shoe-changing area as a whole with alternating shades of purple, creating a layered sense of warmth and romantic visual atmosphere. Here equipped with cabinets and stools, the design upholds the concept of simplicity, focusing on practicality and aesthetics.
# Children's sports parks
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』Live Photos
In order to stimulate the children's sports paradise, 『Area 51』 set up naughty castle, trampoline, breakthrough games, play house and other programs, to meet the children's needs to run wildly and explore freely.
# Dining area
Based on Area 51's strengths in catering, the space was planned to create a dining area that can accommodate multiple diners at the same time.
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』Design Drawing
The design of the dining area focuses on simplicity and atmosphere. Purple is chosen as the main color of the background, creating a unique atmosphere for the space. On this basis, the ceiling and columns are beautified and decorated to make the dining area not only practical but also more visually beautiful, creating a comfortable dining environment for visitors.
# Party room
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』Design Drawing
Considering the demand for party services in Australia, four party rooms with different theme colors have been specially planned in the space layout.
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』Live Photos
The room is set up with a TV for easy switching of themes for various types of parties.
# Toilets
▲ESAC Case 『Area 51』Design Drawing
The design of the bathroom continues the overall spatial theme, from the wall to the washbasin, to the hardware, the use of theme colors, silver materials and IP elements throughout, not only to enhance the overall texture of the space, but also in the details of the unique design style, to bring customers an immersive sci-fi experience.
In order to upgrade the brand and create a differentiated competitive advantage, Jason Wang, the founder of the brand, cooperated with a domestic company,Elephant Sculpture Art Co,. (ESAC), for the first time. The two parties have created a combination of “Chinese Brand & ESAC”. However, in the face of different national conditions and standards, the landing has become a difficult problem in front of us.
1、Cultural differences and aesthetic preferences
Difficulty:The cultural backgrounds, lifestyles and aesthetic preferences of different countries and regions are relatively different, and domestic aesthetics don't exactly match the aesthetics of Australians.
Coping Strategies:As a project contractor, ESAC conducts sufficient market research in the pre-planning and design phase to understand the local history, customs, lifestyle and aesthetic preferences.
2、Verbal communication and information transfer
Difficulty:The language barrier between the two teams may lead to inaccurate transmission of information such as design drawings and construction details, affecting project progress and quality.
Coping Strategies:Use professional translators for key meetings and documents to ensure accurate communication, and communicate design intent through visualization tools such as renderings, videos, and 3D models.
3、Standard Differences
Difficulty:Australia's building codes, fire requirements, and environmental requirements are not the same as domestic standards.
Coping Strategies:The brand invests a lot of cost to strictly purchase products that meet Australian standards. For some products that do not yet have Australian standards, additional certification is completed. To ensure the smooth progress of the project, the brand also hired local engineers to carry out the certification.
As the project contractor, ESAC fully respects and listens to the professional advice of Australian local engineers in production safety control and detail handling. In order to meet the Australian standards, the team conducted large-scale trials, while actively exploring new supply chains, striving to meet or even exceed the requirements in all aspects.
4、Cost control and budget management
Difficulty:The cost of supplies, labor and materials for foreign projects is affected by exchange rate fluctuations.
Coping Strategies:Develop a detailed budget plan at the beginning of the project, taking into account factors such as logistics, tariffs, exchange rates, etc.; have finance staff review project expenditures on a regular basis and adjust budget allocations in a timely manner.
In the end, with the unremitting efforts of both sides, the project landed on schedule. This cooperation not only successfully overcame many difficulties, but also built up a deep trust between the two sides and realized a pleasant cooperation.
“Area 51 doesn't stop there!
What's in store for it?
What will it do in the future?
Let's wait and see.
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