Olivia Young - Gonzaga Kennel Club -- Graphic Design Chair

I served as the Graphic Design Chair for the Gonzaga Kennel Club's 39th season. In this role, I was in charge of designing all branding, merchandise, and social media graphics for the year. I created and oversaw the distribution of t-shirts, bags, sweatpants, stickers, and all other paraphernalia to promote the club. I was one of three members on the Marketing Team, aided with managing and running the social media accounts.

The Kennel Club is Gonzaga's largest student-run organization. Tasked with connecting students to athletics, the board of 15 operates the club of over 2,000 annual student members and an even larger alumni network. The club is responsible for putting on many Gonzaga traditions such as Kennel Campout (formerly known as Tent City) the Vegas trip, and of course, managing one of the loudest and proudest student sections in the nation.

PROJECTS FOR THE KENNEL CLUB

2022-2023 Kennel Club Membership Pack

The 22-23 Membership Pack is where I left my mark. Because it brings in roughly 80% of the revenue for the club, the membership packs are the most important job of the Graphic Design Chair role. A misconception about the Kennel Club is that it receives funding from the school; it's these membership packs that dictate how much money we can spend the rest of the year and how much we can set aside for years to come. It's important to create products that students actually want to own and are willing to pay money for.

For these designs, I really wanted to push the boundaries of what the pack could be in order to give students more bang for their buck, the first step was by swapping the traditional short sleeve for a long sleeve. My goals for this project were to create unique designs that could be stand alone yet fit together as a unit. Because the pack has two shirts, two stickers, and a bag every year, I wanted my designs to be something different from any other Kennel Club merchandise they previously owned.

- The classic red shirt payed homage to Kennel Club tradition while staying fun and loud.

- The long sleeve represents our Washingtonian roots and has a much more subtle vibe, something that can be worn in the every day. The years can be seen in the sticker in the corner.

- I utilized clear and recognizable paw branding on the KC sticker and bag to tie the two together.

- The cassette tape sticker is where I really did something different. What is usually another logo sticker, I wanted to convey arguably the most beloved Kennel Club staple-- Zombie Nation.

This membership pack has been hailed as one of the best ever produced by the Kennel Club. Gonzaga parents have even asked if they can buy the license plate shirt from the Zag Shop. Whether it's a sticker on a laptop or water bottle, seeing the drawstring bag in the RFC, or the shirts on the backs of students at games, I know I've left my mark on this campus and Gonzaga through this membership pack.

Below is the carousel post I designed for the Instagram reveal of the pack.

Kennel Campout Rename and Rebranding Campaign

Kennel Campout, formerly known as “Tent City” has been a staple of Gonzaga culture since its first year in 2006. In recent years, however, the Kennel Club has received a lot of flack for the event’s title– “Tent City” also being a common name for homeless communities, including a predominant one in Spokane.

It was in 2022 when the board finally voted on changing the name to “Kennel Campout”. This was met with a lot of dismay from students and even past students for breaking tradition.

During the campaign for launching this new title, I wanted to come up with an official logo (which the event had never previously had) for the new title to get people excited about the change. The marketing team’s goals were to present the new title as a celebration and upgrade for the event, rather than a negative change.

I drew inspiration from modern outdoorsy/granola logos and culture. I utilized a handwritten feel, uneven lettering, and minimalistic design in order to convey the fun, joy, and ease of camping. A lighter take on Gonzaga’s traditional red and navy to give students a change in our merchandise. I wanted to capitalize on the “KC” in the new logo and iterations, which can represent both the title but also the acronym for the club as well. The primary logo can be easily sectioned off into its secondary logos, making it easier for future use on a wide variety of merchandise.

The primary logo was developed into a large banner and stickers for immediate use.

First Ever Vegas Pack

In addition to the Kennel Campout name transition, I spearheaded many other firsts for the Kennel Club, one of them being creating the first ever Vegas trip pack.

For this project, I was tasked with designing a sticker, a deck of cards, and a coaster. I worked closely with the Vegas Coordinator to execute his vision for these projects.

For this sticker and coaster, the Vegas Coordinator wanted them to be loud and flashy, symbolizing that aspect of Vegas culture. The sticker is busy and colorful, capturing these sentiments. The Ace, 9, 8, 4 is a subtle nod to 1984-- the year the Kennel Club was founded. I used this date instead of the year the trip was taking place to keep the logo general for future use. I included the year on the coaster however so that this year's attendees could have a unique memento.

For the cards, the Vegas Coordinator wanted them to be more sleek, subtle, and elegant. He specified that he wanted black/gold colors and the Vegas skyline included. I executed this by keeping the design simple and using a formal font.

Additional Designs that were developed as Merchandise