Event Campaign: ZooNights
Company: Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo
ZooNights was a seasonal marketing campaign designed to promote extended evening hours at the zoo and encourage families to experience the park after dark. The objective was to reposition the zoo as a magical twilight destination, inviting, playful, and worth staying late for.
Partnering closely with the marketing team, I developed a comprehensive visual identity system for the campaign.
Deliverables:
Logo design
Custom illustrated artwork
Social media ads and digital event pages
City of Calgary bus wraps
The goal was to create a cohesive, highly recognizable campaign that translated seamlessly across environmental, print, digital, and large-scale transit applications.
Creative Direction
The campaign embraced the zoo’s whimsical spirit to connect and inspire families with wildlife while supporting its broader conservation storytelling. Inspired by the timeless magic of classic Walt Disney storytelling, I aimed to create a visual narrative that resonated with both children and adults.
Logo Design
The ZooNights logo was built using a condensed serif typeface with rounded characteristics to balance elegance and a playful feel. A custom typographic detail transformed the descender of the “g” into a cat’s tail, seamlessly integrating the campaign theme while visually connecting to the organization’s primary logo lockup.
The result was a distinctive mark that felt both magical and structurally grounded, scalable for everything from bus wraps to small-format digital placements.
Artwork
Nocturnal cats became the central visual motif. Tigers, cougars, and snow leopards were chosen because of their popularity with guests driving digital engagement with the campaign and also for their natural evening activity patterns, reinforcing the campaign concept.
A sunset-inspired palette paired with silhouetted forms and a subtle noise filter were applied to evoke the softness and nostalgic glow of vintage illustrated posters, adding depth and atmosphere.
Impact
The campaign was well received by the community and successfully increased visitor attendance during extended evening hours. ZooNights became a recognizable seasonal experience and strengthened the zoo’s ability to create destination-driven programming beyond traditional operating hours.
