Woodland Park Zoo’s outdoor ZooTunes concert series takes place over a series of summer evenings each year and has become a staple of the Seattle summertime experience. The concert series features big name musical artists and bands across many music genres including indie, folk, rock, and more. Local food and beer is available for purchase, and attendees can bring picnics. Each summer, events typically draw large crowds and proceeds benefit the Zoo’s animal care and wildlife conservation programs.

For 2024, the concert series needs a marketing campaign that better captures the vibrant feeling of attending the event. The visual style should be unique yet adjacent to the Zoo’s current branding and speak to a demographic that is currently changing due to increased price and changed policy about allowing children to attend for free.

Typically, ZooTunes concert events sell out, but the Zoo would like to continue raising funds to support their conservation efforts, so they need designed items that concert-goers and Zoo visitors would like to buy and keep.

I created a vibrant design system that better reflects the idyllic feel of summer evenings outdoors in Seattle at the concerts and works well with the variety of musical styles featured. Gorgeous wildlife illustration reflects the Zoo’s conservation-centered mission. Past design systems are elevated for the new demographic through use of color, expressive type, and stylized animal shapes with more depth. This design is unique but adjacent to the Zoo’s current brand, with compatible colors and messaging.

Additional advertising media and environmental applications extend the design, creating a holistic experience for concert-goers. Posters have artistic value for display beyond simply advertising the event, and the corresponding merch will likewise hold its value over time for the target audience. Merch items can be sold year-round in Zoo stores and at events as well as at the concerts.