Audi SK8
Conceptual rebrand project of Audi, inspired by Boosted board’s line of electric skateboards/longboards. I followed Audi's brand guidelines when designing.
This rebrand was inspired after I learned about electronic skateboards/longboards when I was in college. I also enjoy longboarding myself, although I do not personally own an electric board. This re-brand concept could be a perfect way for Audi to target a "new" audience, with a lot of potential for expansion in the market.
Concept
The original idea was to re-brand and/or uniquely redesign an already successful brand. I chose to work with Audi specifically because Audi is considered an established and successful luxury car brand. Electric cars have also increased much more in popularity over the past few years. I thought of how I could apply the concept of electric transportation to people who are not able to afford a luxury vehicle or may not
be interested due to their environment.
I decided to go with re-branding Audi for electric boards. Based on my research, I have seen other brands have failed to last with making electric boards due to a lack of name recognition, marketing, funding, and product quality. The new influx and popularity
of electric vehicles is a perfect spot to delve into another similar market.
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Potential to be “revolutionary” and first in the market that could be successful due to Audi's current brand popularity.
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Designing reliable transportation for people living in city/urban areas
or college campuses. (In my experience, many colleges do not allow first-year students to have a car)-
Appealing to those looking to upgrade their current mode
of transportation, whether it's a skateboard, subway, or bus. -
Appealing to those who like cars but can’t necessarily afford them.
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Target Audience
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18-22+ year-olds
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Consider 16+ with parents permission
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Urban/City living for easier transportation or other transportation options for those without access to a car or upgrading their current transportation
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College students
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Car lovers, skateboarders, or longboarders
Plan of Action
To help visually organize my thoughts and goal for this project, I created a concept map/plan of action map. This way, I can easily see my beginning stage thoughts and how the designs evolved based on user research and design planning.
Prior to getting into the designs specifically, I considered what went was successful and what went wrong with other electric skateboard brands. In Boosted Boards case, I know that they were successful in the beginning, but often struggled to get funding and were rather niche.
Design Process
When I first began to design the various board options, I created multiple, unique design options to see the different directions I could take. I prefer designing an abundance of different designs, whether they’d be successful or not. This design process allows me to intuitively pick design aspects and create unique, attractive final designs. (My process is similar to Weingart yet not as extreme if you know of him!)
The designs below I created using Adobe Illustrator and you can see what led me
to my final designs. In the end, I decided that all of the designs would have red wheels and Audi Sport's red palette. Do any of the previous designs catch your eye?
For the Standard Edition of Audi SK8, I wanted the design to remain simplistic, attractive, and branded. This is the only design out of the three to feature Audi's classic 4-ring design.
For the Rugged Edition of Audi SK8, I wanted to create the feeling of motion with the design. The purpose of this board is meant to slightly increase power & speed for more “rugged” areas.
For the Flex Edition of Audi SK8, I wanted to make the design feel more luxurious than the other designs. I also wanted the design to feel sporty and relate to cars, so I took inspiration from vintage race-car designs and included a stripe. Audi’s Sport rhombus logo is also featured on this design only.
Final Boards
Below are the finalized designs I chose to work with after going through my design process. All designs feature Audi Sport's official red color and red wheels. If the buyer wants, they can purchase different wheel color options or customize their boards further. However, these are the three main designs that will be sold. The boards will be made from carbon fiber and bamboo.
Created in Adobe Illustrator, 2021.
The final board design for Audi SK8 Standard is a simple, branded design featuring red wheels and a bamboo board bottom. Both this edition and the Rugged editions feature bamboo bottoms. This allows for strength and flexibility while using the board, making it easier to turn sharp corners and preventing speed wobbles.
The final design for Audi SK8 Rugged features the grooved wheels which are inspired by real tire treads. The idea is to allow for better grip, which will allow the board to be able to work on other surfaces than just pavement/concrete. The board could be considered "all-weather" however, it is not recommended to use if there are issues of heavy rain, snow, or ice.
The final design of Audi SK8 Flex also features a red bottom, whereas the other boards do not. I chose to do this to further enhance the feeling of luxury and exclusivity for board purchasers. This feature can only be purchased or customized with the Flex board.
Battery Charge
Following Audi's electric car brand guidelines, I created this simple indicator of the battery charge for the board. Ideally, battery life would run for about 15-20 miles depending on the mph. (Based on Boosted Boards XR Battery lasting 12-14 miles for about 20-22mph)
Blue = Needs to be charged
Green = Fully Charged
Ad Campaigns
When designing these ad campaigns, I looked at previous ad campaigns released by Audi. I also read their online brand guide and followed their specific requirements of what to do/what not to do, which typography to use, etc.
All of the photography was taken by me, edited in Adobe Lightroom & Adobe Photoshop. I used Adobe Illustrator for the typography and vector elements.
Mock-ups are from Freepik.
Mock-ups
I purposely chose to use urban areas as the target audience would likely be living in a city, urban area, or at/near a college campus.
Mock-ups are from Freepik.
Website & App Designs
Coming Soon for 2024!
Referencing: Audi Website, Volvo Car App