Group members: Sophie Bradbury, Jeff Gilman, Rachael Levitt, Matthew Nguyen, and Kayla Wolff
My role: created name for The Brink, designed floor plan and interior, visualized 3D renderings, created a mood board, grand opening posters, website mockup, business cards, presentation design, menu mockup, skate and ice cream mockup.
The Study
My 458A Design and Innovation in Marketing group was tasked to create a new retail store concept for the College Park area.
At first we struggled to come up with new and innovative ideas. We wanted our group to stand out and do something other than a restaurant or typical clothing store. However, after analyzing our target audience and conducting research through an online survey, our group found that College Park residents were primarily students who experienced a lot of stress, boredom and depression due to the pandemic and heavy coursework.
We began our brainstorming process thinking of things that would help alleviate stress, boredom and depression. A lot of our ideas revolved around recreational activities for they offered something to actively participate in, relived endorphins through exercise, and offered a new way for social interaction in College Park.
With our research also indicating a trend towards more nostalgic activities among the younger generation, we tried to think of activities that could bring this kind of feeling.
The Solution
We decided to create a roller skating rink with featuring a milk and cereal bar. The restaurant part of our concept helps to enhance nostalgia while keeping customers in our store longer as they get hungry for a late-night snack.
Our name,The Brink, was formulated on the brink of COVID-19. A Brink is "any extreme edge; verge, or critical point." As UMD students bored with the lack of the activities available in College Park, we saw a critical opportunity of The Brink, a roller skating rink specifically designed to help students on the whatever brink they face- may it be boredom, stress, a bad grade on an exam, they can come to The Brink to let loose. The Brink is dedicated to providing an enjoyable, safe, and nostalgic experience for people of all ages. We want to alleviate people’s worries and let them enter a world separate from their problems through our entertainment, nostalgic themes, and a neat twist on late-night snacks.
The Brink would offer a new experience in College Park and the surrounding area. There aren’t roller skating rinks close to campus for students to go to and they are all relatively outdated. The design of the brink takes nostalgic features from eras such as the '50s and '90s while still feeling hip and relevant. A combination of black and white tiled floors, diner booths, playful colors and disco vibe act as a reflection of the past while keeping with sleek design of modern day.
View business proposal and slide deck