BLUE
Designed for WaterStone Bank
Back in May 2021, WaterStone bank was looking to update their company's mascot. A call was sent out to any eligible designer to come up with a concept for a new character. I received an email from WaterStone about the opportunity and was further told about the mascot contest by my sister who both inspired and encouraged me to go forward with this design challenge.
The intention with the implementation of a new mascot was to create a character that would provide an inviting atmosphere for children. Further alterations of the design were made for this purpose and to make the design more translatable to the finalized costumed character pictured below.
INITIAL CONCEPTS/PROCESS WORK:
My inspiration for this design was my sister and her love of Hippos. Ever since she was little her favorite animal has always been a hippo and I thought that since the company's name has 'water' in it I would got with an aquatic animal or at least one that has an association with water. I also wanted to keep with the company's colors and logo so I made the character the same shades of blue and added the logo to the belly.
Many things were different in my initial sketches/design and finalized digitalized concept for the mascot. For instance, the name for my mascot was also initially named Beulah after my sister's plush hippo she has. It was decided that Blue would be easier for children to remember and pronounce. The facial features were also exaggerated to be more inviting for children. Other alteration were made to fit with WaterStone's future plans for the mascot. One such things was the intention to make the mascot an actual meet-and-greet character. The company that produced the final costume could not transfer the logo onto the fur of the belly and therefore the logo was instead made into a t-shirt worn by the mascot. The limbs and fingers were also adjusted to make the costumed character more mobile.
FINAL CONCEPT/PRODUCTS:
Blue the Hippo is not limited to a costumed mascot, but has been translated across several medias as well. Blue has been made digital and can be seen on WaterStone Bank's official website and is used in emails from WaterStone to its valued costumers. Blue will be used to introduce children to WaterStone's new 'financial literacy app' that is in current development. Blue is also available on print materials such as brochures, bookmarks, coloring pages for kids, etc. Furthermore, Blue's image has also been used across children's puzzles, stickers, and temporary kid's tattoos. More of Blue is always in production and is always present at every Wisconsin WaterStone Bank location!