FMP - Initial Ideas and Concepts
The working title for this project is Airbnb Transport. The word transport may be fully descriptive of the product being offered but sounds slightly harsh, leading to sometimes negative connotations, even a government run or endorsed deal. As Airbnb so far has created the appeal of an everybody brand a search for a new name has become needed.
POSSIBLE NAMES
Words with the same meaning as the transport, but in a more colloquial and conversational tone.
Move/ go/ act/ pass/ do/ action/ a-b-c/ sway/ shift/wave/ travel/ motion/ journey
LOGO
‘Airbnb Go’
The colours involved have all come from within the brand colours, just with emphasis on certain shades altered to give the brand its own unique stance whilst still being related. Their is also Belo use to connect further with the overall brands key imagery.
The Airbnb Go logo was designed to work mainly along the original brand of Airbnb and the sub-brand Plus, staying with the hand drawn element.
As this brand would be used for transport all parts involved, whether they be lines on a map or a marker, need to be precise to avoid confusion. To reflect this throughout the brands design the lines are more decisive and less rounded in overall shape. The ‘Go’ is also slightly slanted giving it the feeling of going somewhere, with the Belo pointing up and away towards its next adventure, as the user would with this tool.
LOGO USE
As with the whole of the Airbnb brand, there are three logos that would be used. The ‘Go’, the ‘Belo and Go’ and the ‘wordmark and Go’.
They each have their own use and place, but in order to keep up the air of fun/ conversational style of this sub-brand the ‘Belo and Go’ logo is expected to be used more often throughout.
To go with the logo identity, the line of ‘Go like a local’ has been added, helping to ground the brand. The slant of the letters, matching that of the ‘G’, giving it the same feel of moving on.
PRIMARY FONT
The font selected to be the primary font of Airbnb Go also follows the style of rounded letters and circular shape of any letter or numbers bowl, rather then it being distorted to an oval.
This shape not only keeps the consistency throughout the brand and subsequent sub-brands but keeps in the check with the friendly, every-man message made clear throughout Airbnb.
The font Circular comes in a range of varieties:
To keep the familiarity of the brand strong, the main colours for the Aribnb Go will come form the brands main colour scheme.
The overall brand is recognised as the colour Rausch, and Airbnb Plus as Hackberry.
To stay with the light feel the brand brings, but also add a brightness that would come with the adventure that Aribnb Go would help you to make the brand over all significant colour will be Beach. As with the rest of the brand the key colour touches made throughout promotion and the site itself will come from the existing palette, with a heavier focus on Olin, Hof, Ebisu and Kazan.
As this is a map based brand, even at this early stage the lined made when drawing on an app needed to be considered, ensuring that the sub-brand worked in harmony together. I conducted an experiment where I printed several maps of different styles from books in the library and asked different people to draw out route - helping me to narrow it down to a ‘key’ type of line that would be use. The arrow would mark the end destination of the route, which still encouraging the Airbnb user to continue exploring. Th loop in any arrow line is in direct reference to the Airbnb Logo Belo and is drawn around any places to stop along the way.
THE USER AND HOST
In order for any lined used to neither look too refined (and therefore lose any human quality) or to drawn
(loosing all accuracy), there was research conducted looking at how other individuals would draw directions on a map. Accuracy of line was at the forefront of concern, as a result all lined drawn had a straight, rounded edged/cornered quality to them, loosing the overall shape of roundness used in Airbnb Plus.
As any marks made on any kind of map would be based around accuracy, the mark-making, touch elements throughout would also be centred around the same idea.
LINES AND ARROWS
All of the lined are straight and rounded round the corners, to upkeep with the personal drawn concept all arrow heads are differ and curve in some-way, they are never straight, allowing the feel of possibility that they have been drawn to remain.
This imagery would not only be used for route making online and on app, but also throughout any advertising or poster work, connecting areas together and giving emphasis to certain aspects.
The art direction for Airbnb Go will reinforce the ideas presented in the brand principles; that is light, bright, personal and a place for everyone.
CONCEPT ONE
The art direction for concept one looks at the location the vehicle, no matter what it may be, would be found. Whether that be outside the home, displayed on the wall or anywhere else that it may be kept by the owner.
The idea of Airbnb is to live like a local in a new place, this concept stays strictly with this ideal - it shows how it would be if you lived there.
Of course as with any photography of the home in show, the surroundings the vehicle would be situated in would be neat and clean.
CONCEPT TWO
The art direction for concept two is to show the vehicle on offer in the destination the user has taken it to. It would involve the interesting backdrop of the destination (people in the background if in shot etc. a busy place) and no user.
All the shots in use would simply be about the vehicle. Opening the possible users eyes up to the options and experiences open to them.
CONCEPT THREE
The art direction for concept three is to open
the user up to the possibilities that are open to them, through taking images of their supposed companion/s partaking in the journey.
The images would be shot as if the possible Airbnb Go user has captured it, showing off the view that they could have or the experience/ activity they could partake, if they choose to use the vehicle that has been left in the foreground.
For all and any map-type products offered by this Airbnb sub-brand the newly refined tier colour scheme will be the only colours used, with the edition of a pure white
When using a product which is to help direct the user easily, no sudden and unexpexted changes can be made - it is often found that maps are hard enough to read correctly alone.
All bodies of water have had their blue hue edited, the main roads made dark grey, areas largely considered to be of traditional tourist interest are
in light coral and all routed are made with brightly coloured yellow arrows.
The varying amounts of each colour per a map are dictated by what the area has to offer. All unnesscary informationa and points have been removed, however the further enlarged the map the more street names appear helping the map to be useful but not overly complicated.
Illustration examples of modes of transport that differeing hosts and homes would offer.
On any kind of informative format the suitable icons would appear. All illustrations, such as these, would be drawn in the style of a hand-drawn image but simplified and polished with no unneccesary additions to the outline.
Above are the icons for running, cycling, kayaking, yachting, walking, mountain biking, canouing and skateboarding all created in the same style of thick lines and rounded edges.
MAP SYSTEM MECHANIC
Once a route has been drawn onto a map with pen and paper, it become completely unique.
To give the host this same individuality a cover card system has been devised through their route plotting.
This card would be seen first by the guest, with the line system staying in the same place as they scroll down, with more information being added the further they go.
This is the halfway screen point the user would find as they scroll down to reveal the map of the local area.
Once the user has scrolled down the map is fully revealed and the stop spots the host has recommend are numbered. Each stop spot is marked with a below going over the establishment. The corresponding number can be seen on the side offering further information. The home is marked with a circle (a comfortable, all centred symbol) with the routed extending from it. End destinations are pointed through arrows.
On the side of every map screen would not only be the Airbnb Go logo but also a hand-drawn styled image of the modes of transport that host is offering.
When a route has been chosen the stop spot number is darkened on the side, offering an image of the location to help the user locate it, added information about the place by the host and a locate tip, helping the guest to go like a local and feel confident on their journey routes.
When a route has been chosen the stop spot number is darkened on the side, offering an image of the location to help the user locate it, added information about the place by the host and a locate tip, helping the guest to go like a local and feel confident on their journey routes. This is the half-way sliding tile point.
Once the infromation card has slided out to the screen, the entire map is darkened with a tint, revealing the selected are in clarity amongst the darkness - leaving no kis-understanding on what that particular stop spot offers.
