Orca

New Zealand & Global

WORK DESCRIPTION

Creative Direction,Brand Identity, Creative Strategy, TOV, Copywriting, Design Strategy, Brand Guidelines, Graphic Design, Product Design, Packaging Design, Retail Design, Photography, Retouching

INDUSTRY

Sports Design, Olympic Apparel, Triathlon, Ironman, Running, Training, Cycling, Freediving, Open Water Swimming, Team Sport

ABOUT ORCA

Orca was founded in 1995 by Scott Unsworth, a world class athlete and entrepreneur. At the core of Orca lies the desire to be the best through product and material innovation. Inspired by the apex predator of the ocean, the Orca Whale, Orca developed a techno organic design line that was seen at the highest levels of competition. Orca is a loved, iconic triathlon brand. Designs have been seen on magazine covers, podiums, at the Olympics, on 60 Minutes, 2020, CBS News, ESPN, at Cannes, on world champions, world record holders, gold medallists, celebrities and ocassionally on Greenpeace mercenaries... Extraordinary achievements have been made by people all over the world wearing Orca. 

The above is the marketing spin. It's all true. But the heart of Orca came from Scott. This iconic brand started from Scott's desire to create a better wetsuit for swimming. He sold wetsuits from the trunk/ boot of his Toyota Corolla - yes, the least glamourous car in the world. It's quite humble and it serves as a reminder that if you are mindful of opportunity - you can achieve incredible things.

OBJECTIVES

A small brand but internationally known and loved within Triathlon and Ironman event circles. The main objectives were to develop and drive the brand DNA across all touch points of the brand experience. This included design and development of sub-brands within the Orca brand - Triathlon/ Compression/ Training/ Wetsuits/ Merino/ Accessories. Design and development of wetsuits/ apparel and soft goods - liaising with factories and production in HK and China. Strategic development of new apparel ranges and creative strategy for new product lines. Graphic design of all marketing collateral: print advertising, online advertising, POS, swing tickets, product catalogues, packaging as well as structural POS design and implementation. Studio photography, high resolution retouching and creative retouching. Roll outs for brand campaigns in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas. Responsible for leading a team of designers and mentoring junior designers both in NZ and HK.

MAGAZINE COVERS
MULTIPLE DESIGNS FEATURED ON LOCAL & INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE COVERS

WETSUIT GRAPHICS

The Orca graphic treatments designed between 2007 and 2013 are mostly still used today. Three generations of each Orca wetsuit were designed during this period. The orginal Alpha, Alpha 1.5, 3.8, 3.8 Enduro, Predator, Sonar, Equip, S3, S4, S5, S6, Free, Razor and TRN brandmarks & graphic devices are still used currently with only the arm pattern changing. 

The design line for the Orca aesthetic was termed Techno Organic - a hybrid graphic style of shapes and patterns derived from nature and given a geometric tech structure. The inspiration for the (some might say overt) striking Orca arm patterns was warpaint. Tribal graphics to reflect the nature of racing (triathlon can be war) and the culture of triathlon in general - you become part of a tribe.

The Orca Alpha was originally named because it was touted to be the number one wetsuit on the market. Orca's new Alpha wetsuit quickly created a stir amongst professional triathletes, with the 40 cell neoprene, 1.5mm shoulder, back and chest panels offering flexibility never seen before. It was also targeted at the top tier swimmer - the Alpha male & female. The 1.5 refers to the triathlon swim distance of 1.5km.

Orca Founder design brief: 'do something different'.

ORCA S4

The S4 was the bottom tier wetsuit. The Orca wetsuit graphics used a graphic designation to visually separate the top tiered products from the bottom. The high end suits had multiple colours and prints that crossed seams. Technically this was harder to manufacture and offered a unique design line. The brief of 'don't make it look too good' was not a desire to make a poorly designed product - but to clearly differientate between the top tier and the bottom tier for product.

Orca Founder design brief : 'don't make it look too good'.

ORCA RS1 LOGO DESIGN AND APPAREL GRAPHICS
THE ORCA RS1 BADGE WAS APPLIED TO THE TOP TIER RACING APPAREL, COMPRESSION & WETSUITS.

TRIATHLON TRANSITION BACK PACK DESIGN
RATED 4.5/5, BEST IN CLASS.