Hunt is on for a name for Preston's new Youth Zone

  • 6 months ago
What's in a name? Plenty, apparently - especially when it comes to appealing to young people.

Branding expert Rachel Simpson talks to local democracy reporter Paul Faulkner.
Transcript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:24 Rachel, there are two logos for
00:26 future users of the Youth Zone to choose from, aren't there?
00:29 Whichever one is picked,
00:30 how do you see them being
00:31 incorporated into the branding for the building?
00:35 >> Branding is more than a logo.
00:37 It's how we're going to put it
00:39 inside the building as well as outside.
00:42 The first one in terms of vault is very much about the shapes.
00:45 It can be used for the furniture,
00:48 it can be used around the building in terms of the signage.
00:52 The second one is space where it's
00:56 open up into the different spaces.
01:00 Again, it's not just a logo that's going to be slapped on the building,
01:04 it will be incorporated throughout the signage and the rooms and stuff.
01:10 >> That almost sounds quite corporate, doesn't it?
01:13 Like something that a big company might be
01:15 concerned with doing if they were launching
01:17 a new product or something like that.
01:18 How important is it that there is something visually
01:21 representative for the young people who
01:23 will be using the U-zone to identify with?
01:26 >> Yeah, definitely important.
01:28 One thing that came out of the workshops was
01:31 they wanted something where they felt that they belonged.
01:33 Bringing the brand out into
01:35 the actual building itself is really,
01:37 really important so that they can see,
01:39 they get the right feeling,
01:41 they get the vibe of the place.
01:43 What kept coming out of it, they wanted something quite urban, quite cool.
01:46 It's making sure that everything that we do from the leaflets to
01:50 the inside of the buildings is reflected in the brand.
01:54 >> Brand identity, it's even important for
01:56 something like a youth facility like this.
01:58 >> Absolutely, yeah.
02:00 More than anything because it gets the kids excited,
02:03 it tells the kids what's going on,
02:06 it's the tone of voice, the colors,
02:08 it gets them involved in it.
02:11 >> If you got it wrong, you could actually pull people off.
02:14 [LAUGHTER]
02:17 >> Yeah, I suppose.
02:20 Yeah, you could.
02:21 That's the process that we've done where we've got kids involved,
02:24 make sure that they are happy with it.
02:26 We got them involved in naming it as well.
02:28 They helped us come up with the names themselves.
02:31 One is very much about a safe space, the vault,
02:33 and the other one is basics,
02:35 like that starting point.
02:36 They were involved right from the beginning of
02:39 that whole process of coming up with a name,
02:41 thinking of the way that it's going to be applied to the building.
02:45 >> I've actually read some of the explanations that
02:48 the young people who were consulted
02:49 have given for the two names that they've chosen.
02:52 They're really quite deep, aren't they?
02:54 You can tell that they've given it a lot of thought.
02:57 >> Yeah. It's like it means something to them as well.
03:01 It's all come out from what they've been talking about.
03:05 >> I wouldn't expect you to reveal it,
03:07 but have you got a personal preference
03:09 that you would like to see chosen?
03:10 >> No, I like them both.
03:12 I don't think we would have put just one that we didn't like forward.
03:18 No, either of them I think will be really good and both mean something.
03:23 >> Now it's over to the young people at Preston.
03:26 >> Definitely. Yeah, it's exciting.
03:27 Let's see what they choose.
03:29 >> Rachel, thanks very much indeed for talking to us.

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