Final year project
Cork Suckers / Celestaire [Read more]
Cork Suckers
Deforestation sucks. Cork Suckers is a disruptive Craft Mead Gin brand that promotes bee and forest management through community craftsmanship. Because saving bees is saving trees.
Celestaire
Celestaire is a boutique hotel experience onboard a space shuttle to Mars. With Mars travel becoming not such a distant reality, the opportunity for recreational visits is not just something Elon Musk dreams about. Inspired by a retrospective approach to the art direction and recreating the 'Golden Age' of travel - Celestaire uses the past to create the future of space travel.
Cork Suckers - modern heraldry
Fed up with decades of forest plundering and thirsty for change, we knew bees held the answer. Powerful pollinators, whose absence can change life as we know it, bees are the answer to sustaining our planet.
Bees are synonymous with honey, but Mead – the honey wine once loved by our ancestors has been forgotten about in the mainstream drinks market. With powerful environmental benefits, we thought it was time for Mead’s major comeback.
From Medieval to modern, Cork Suckers was born.
Cork Suckers' - the subscription boxes
The biodegradable boxes made from wood shavings are designed with the tapestry pattern from the Cork Suckers brand arsenal. With a tear-off perforated strip, the customer engages in an exciting relationship with the box. Once inside, a message to the customer is printed on the inside of the lid and a synopsis of the ordered Mead Gin is detailed on an insert.
Cork Suckers' - the bottles
Why in a bottle?
Although over 70% of craft beers over the last year were sold in a can, we have chosen to use glass bottles. This is because our bottles can be made by local glassblowers, and are widely recyclable. Unlike cans, they also use low amounts of energy to manufacture and don’t promote the bauxite mining industry.
Cork Suckers' - the delivery
From undertaking a user journey map, the target audience of the older Millennial group appreciates an experience, in terms of brand appeal. This experience can be in any aspect of the brand. Therefore, we made sure the delivery of monthly bottles from our branded electric vans was something to look forward to.
Celestaire - the touchpoints
From undertaking a user journey map, a physical memento was an important touchpoint for my target audience. Therefore, the Celestaire experience includes branded postcards and space stamps to record countless adventures onboard the ship.
Celestaire's boutique hotel experience
The brand would incorporate quirky tonal writing across several touchpoints in the brand experience. These would be specifically moulded to the target audience, making sure to be relevant and to convey the brand values.
Sophie Routledge
Quirky, thoughtful and original designer with a love of clever words and crafted art direction.
With a background in painting and drawing, I approach design with a crafted quality. Having worked in the industry, I've been trained to have a strategic mind and to approach design with a balance of pragmatism and a touch of blue-sky thinking. I am a strong believer that any idea can work.
Final year project
Cork Suckers / Celestaire
Awards
RSA - Shortlisted
Cork Suckers, was a project shortlisted for the RSA, ‘A New Leaf Brief’. It sought to reposition Mead in the mainstream beverage market. Taking inspiration from the craft beer movement and the ‘gin renaissance’, Cork Suckers promoted community craftsmanship and forest management across UK forests through a cheeky and confident brand positioning.
2019 - 2020 - Diploma in Professional Studies
Work Experience
February 2021 - April 2021 - Freelance Content Creator - The Yard Creative
Alongside my final year projects, I worked as a freelance Content Creator for The Yard Creative. It was such a great experience to be back working on real industry projects, and working alongside the designers I was with during my internship. The role involved art-working images that showcased projects, and updating TYC's website and social media channels with inspiring and bold project images. A lot of time management and focus was needed and I certainly developed my curative and art-working skills.
July 2019 - August 2020 - Design Intern - The Yard Creative
Working with Senior team members and project clients, I worked on amazing project deliverables of varying requirements. From attending client meetings, creative workshops and visiting clients on-site, I've had an invaluable and thrilling baptism into professional design. I have worked on strategy documents, social media planning and microsites, and been exposed to every type of design project.