CASE STUDY - JACKSON BAY CHARTERS
Jackson Bay Charters is a family-run fishing charter business nestled in the remote paradise of Jackson Bay, New Zealand. Whilst their latest vessel, Ōkahu was being built — they approached us to design a versatile brand, promotional materials and develop a website to manage their bookings.
Jon Tarr - Design Commentary
Jackson Bay Charters needed a logo that was bold, clear and readable from a distance. A logotype comprised mainly of lettering was key to achieving this. I certainly wished to avoid unnecessary complexcity like stylised boats, fishing rods and cheesy cliché graphics.
However was going to be quite long with so many letters, so I needed to think about versatility with different format options. The space on the vessel itself, just above the waterline, is long and thin. But that linear version would really struggle to suit more compact spaces. So I wanted to make sure the words could stack vertically as well as present a short 3-letter JBC abbreviation mark too.
The lettering was designed monospaced; each letter using equal space and dimensions. This gave a strong, bold look, but more importantly it meant that the C in JACKSON would perfectly mirror the C in JBC — a vital piece of consistency.
I was avoiding complex graphics — but we did want a simple mark, a colour highlight to tie the formats together. I designed a simple curvy element. Something signifying water, waves, action and motion.
This mark was designed to curl around the first 3 letters, exiting out the gap of the C and dropping down the gap of the K — the purpose was for the mark to anchor consistency across these different formats.
I then slanted all the lettering forward, following the motion of the wave. And 'distressed' the logo with some wear and damage. This creates a logo that looks sporty and action-packed. But also means that real, natural wear on the vessel signage won't actually look out of place.
Once we had the branding sorted we set about the design and development of a custom website.
The site displays all the information for their business such as Charters & Tours, The Vessel, Accommodation, Gallery etc.
And we developed a custom booking system that works just the way they need it to.
Users can select the charter they want, add in details of their group numbers, choose available time slots and pay their deposit to secure their trip.
Which they manage themselves through our bespoke, easy-to-use Content Management System.
"I thought I would send you a photo of the boat with its branding on, it looks awesome, thanks for the great design!"
Murray Petrie - Jackson Bay Charters