Designing the wildest night of the summer.
We partner with the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden each year during their annual gala, Zoofari, to celebrate the animals and plants in their care. By supporting one of our city’s jewels, we help the animals, the zoo, and the whole Cincinnati community let loose for one special night each Summer.
A living, breathing gala—refreshed year after year.
Zoofari is the Cincinnati Zoo’s largest annual fundraiser. The end-of-summer event invites over 2,500 professional, civic and philanthropic leaders, more than 120 companies, 65+ restaurants and 30 exotic animal encounters, all under a 60,000 square foot tent. Zoofari is expected to be a unique gala, worthy of attending year after year. To amplify its success, this event must be far from feeling like just another fundraiser. So, Hyperquake and the Zoo team work as partners to develop the unique theme, and then co-create to ensure their amazing purpose and presence in Cincinnati is felt by every person who sponsors, supports and attends the event. In doing so, we encourage maximum participation and commitment annually.
In 2016, the Botanical Garden finally had the opportunity to showcase its invaluable contribution to the Zoo’s animals and visitors.
Celebrating the hidden wonders of the botanical world.
Behind the glamour of the animal kingdom grows a lush backdrop of botanical wonders. Branches, roots and blossoms intertwine to provide a natural habitat that nourishes, protects and beautifies the wild animals hidden within. At the Cincinnati Zoo, these habitats are thoughtfully, artfully constructed, seamlessly providing both refuge for its animals and exploration for its visitors.
The Zoo team expressed its desire for the theme to be just as lush, vibrant and compelling as previous animal-themed years. The Garden team also expressed the hope that we could use this year’s theme to educate attendees about the plant species they cultivate. Hyperquake illustrated five of the key plant species grown at the Zoo throughout the year. These five species comprised the five sponsorship levels available to attendees, and the illustrations formed the graphic basis for the remainder of the identity.
A botanical identity built from natural material.
Hyperquake was honored to partner with Grainwell to bring new dimension to the Zoofari identity. Our intention was to bring our illustrations to life three-dimensionally from natural wood (to fit with the botanical theme), and then to photograph and colorize the finished pieces to use as the backdrop for all Zoofari collateral.
Grainwell, who donated their materials and time on this project to benefit the Zoo, carefully cut the finely detailed illustrations from ¼” wood for each piece of collateral. The final layered and framed poster, used for the event’s invitations and posters located around the city, was donated to the Zoo.
A stunning night under a bright canopy.
Zoofari 2016: A Botanical Dream was one of the most extraordinary and memorable nights of the year. The event design team and vendors seamlessly translated Hyperquake’s identity work into the evening’s breathtaking surroundings, from enormous fern centerpieces and luminous flowers hanging over the dancefloor, to our custom illustrations projected across the tent. Foliage from many climates, both towering and delicate, was punctuated by moody, evocative illuminations to create a stunningly saturated visual experience that invited Zoofari guests to dine, relax and unwind under its elaborate, expressive canopy.
Inspire. Create. Produce. Party.
Thanks to the generosity and involvement of those in attendance, the zoo exceeded their fundraising goals that support their initiatives which include the care and sustainability of 500 animals and 3,000 plant species, ground-breaking conservation and reproduction work, and educational outreach programs that reach more than 330,000 students annually.
It’s a privilege for us to work with amazing organizations like our Cincinnati Zoo – a world-class leader, committed to creating adventure, conveying knowledge, conserving nature and serving our community. Hyperquake thanks the Zoo for continuing to entrust us with the visual inspiration, theme and design execution of the gala’s collateral, and we look forward to continued creative partnership with this jewel of the Queen City.
