Featured Project: Everything but the Kitchen Sink for Two High-Rise Campus Living Projects

One of the strongest sectors in the real estate market right now is campus housing, and no one is doing it better than Chicago-based Campus Acquisitions. And over the past few months, they entrusted Kitchen Sink Studios to create a full leasing and marketing package for their properties in Tucson and College Station, Texas that included...just about everything but the kitchen sink.

We started each project with architectural plans for the 15-story buildings. And that's it. Kitchen Sink was charged with helping to name the properties, creation of brand identity, development of computer animations, production of illustrative marketing videos, design of print collateral and development of mobile-friendly web sites for each of the two under-construction projects. 

First came the names, and we took into consideration the fact that the University of Arizona and Texas A&M environments are VERY different. For Tucson, the name had to reflect sort of an urban-aspirational feel to attract the kind of students who would want to live in the finest student housing in the area. And for College Station, we had to weigh a similar demographic while taking into consideration the "Texas" feel of College Station and the property's location in the town's Northgate district. 

For Tucson, the name "Level" was selected, and for College Station, the project was named "Rise at Northgate." The brand identities soon followed. 

While the branding process was taking place, the studio's 3D team set about bringing the properties to life through stunning renderings that would convey the scope and quality of each property. 

We then worked to develop collateral and leasing materials for the properties that featured the new brand identity as well as the animations, mixed in with lifestyle photography that helped create a vision that students and their parents could relate to. 

And, we translated all the work done on branding, identity and imagery into mobile-friendly web sites (here are links to Level and to Rise at Northgate) that include interactive floor plans and videos that show students what each project will be like once completed. 

We'll be working with Campus Acquisitions on several other projects across the United States with a similar scope of work. Our team always enjoys the opportunity to start from scratch on a project and create something that brings a vision to life, and these projects were no exception. 

Featured Product: Genius Blends

Our latest featured project is our work for a company called Genius Blends, which is developing a vending machine that dispenses delicious, nutritious fruit “smoothies” and other similar drinks.

Genius Blends approached Kitchen Sink Studios with the task of improving upon their initial machine concept. Our job was to develop a more creative and aesthetically pleasing model and produce a polished package for potential investors to view. Kitchen Sink Studios refined the illustrations to make the product look more attractive to potential customers and emphasizing the delicious flavors that the machine will dispense. We illustrated the concept by creating 3D product renderings and producing a video animation short based on only the preliminary product illustrations from Genius Blends.

The images below show the process in taking Genius Blends’ early models and crafting a more creative and appealing look:

Original Genius Blends Renderings:

The Kitchen Sink Process:

First Phase Investor Package Result:

Video Animation:



The entire process of working with a client and evolving their brand, product, or service in a successful and creative way is extremely rewarding.  Kitchen Sink Studios is excited for the future of Genius Blends and the potential of this incredible machine.  We are confident that everyone will be seeing their product popping up in every gym, convenience store, or general public setting soon!

Featured Project: Environment and Natural Resources, Phase 2 building at the University of Arizona

How do you depict one of the most ambitious green building projects ever contemplated in Arizona? That was the task for the Kitchen Sink Studios team when we were retained as part of a collaborative effort between the University of Arizona, richard + bauer architects and several other groups to create the University of Arizona's Environment and Natural Resources, Phase 2 (ENR2) building.

University of Arizona officials are kicking off a capital campaign to raise the money to build ENR2, which will house six university departments. They wanted the kind of fundraising presentation that literally would bring the building to life for prospective donors and show just how much thought went into its incredibly sustainable design. ENR2 is inspired by a natural slot-canyon design to help minimize the impact of the desert elements, and when completed, will be one of the most environmentally sensitive structures ever built in Arizona, with the goal of obtaining coveted LEED-Platinum certification.

The Kitchen Sink team created three groundbreaking products to illustrate how ENR2 will work and truly bring the structure to life:

• An interactive, web-based presentation that opens with a tour of an animated slot canyon, showing just how it inspired the design of ENR2. The opening presentation then transitions into an interactive learning environment showing five different viewpoints of ENR2 and depicting some of the many features that make it such a sustainable project.

• An "augmented reality" presentation of ENR2 that allows anyone with a web camera on their computer to experience a three-dimensional, interactive version of the building that can be rotated in their own hands. The augmented reality presentation literally brings the building to life and allows the viewer to experience the building from any angle.

• A printed piece, which was printed on 100 percent FSC certified paper to ensure its sustainability, that tears off into postcards featuring the complete set of renderings of ENR2 and background information on the project, as well as the placard needed for the augmented reality presentation.

All told, it was a great example of how Kitchen Sink's 3D and animation capabilities can be used in both web-based and printed pieces to create tremendous communication tools. It's also a great example of just how much is possible when you have an open-minded client like the UofA, a top-notch design team like richard + bauer, and the creativity of the Kitchen Sink team come together.