Grenada Travel Brochure Research

Brand Design Studio CA1 Research Ethel Chang DXCD/FT/2B/04

Research In week 1, I first started to look at the basic facts of Grenada, my chosen country: • Grenada is a country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. It has an area of 344 square km. St. George’s is its capital and largest city. English is the official language of Grenada. East Caribbean dollar (XCD) is its official currency. It has no land bordering countries. Grenada, dubbed the “Spice Isle”, is a Caribbean country comprising a main island, also called Grenada, and smaller surrounding islands. • As Grenada is along the Caribbean Sea (amongst many others), the people are also known as Caribbean People • Grenada is known as the “Island of Spice” because it produces nutmeg and mace crops, as well as some other spice. (https://thefactfile.org/grenada-facts/) I then tried to dive deeper, as these facts were pretty standard and meh ... • There is a “Jumpers Hill” in Grenada. The hill got its name when the Caribs (earliest inhabitants of Grenada) were chased by the French, who were trying to take control of the island. The Caribs reached the top of the hill and had no way to escape. Ultimately, they jumped off the hill and perished. (https:// thefactfile.org/grenada-facts/) • Grenada is the home of the world’s first underwater sculpture park. The sculptures are developed with concrete and rebar, and are placed naturally without affecting the natural reef and the lives of its inhabitants adversely (https://thefactfile.org/grenada-facts/) I also went on to tripadvisor to look at what tourist activities Grenada had to offer Upon finding out these facts, I started to craft out the archetype of Grenada which were: Major: explorer Minor: hero My rationale was that Grenada was a country filled with tourist activities such as hikes, bike riding, and other active and adventure filled activity, hence it would cater towards people who enjoy being active while learning about history at the same time. During the class activity, which was to share with our classmates and gather feedback, I gathered some ideas and feedback from friends: • Jumping down from Leaper’s hill to Underwater park Explore the whole area top to down • find one focus too many attractions going on

Research Our task before coming back in week 2 was to compile music, videos, and pictures of our country, and how these would affect the personality of it. We also had to find out what were life changing experiences that other countries cannot offer. (look for USP) I decided to look into their festivals. Grenada festivals are one of a kind and a very unique experience. They are filled with colourful traditional costumes and loud lively music. However, I wanted to dig even deeper. I felt that a colourful and lively festival can be found in other places too. I did more research on the history and origin of the festivals. Spicemas - falls on the second monday and tuesday of august every year - many “pre-parties” before it - Pree Day, a soca show hosted by artist Talpree - competitions for the best steel pan band at Panorama - greatest costumed masqueraders named king and queen of carnival at Dimanche Gras - bikini cruises and all-white attire parties - street fete that sees revelers dancing and waving flurescent wands for Monday Night Mas - the climax of Spicemas is during Pretty Mas on the Tuesday, where fancy feathered masqueraders will prance around beautiful backdrop of all the Caribbean carnivals SEE - very early on monday morning, masqueraders pour into the streets of St. George’s for J’ouvert (J’ouvert is a traditional festival known as “break day” or the unofficial start of Carnival, which takes place the Monday before Ash Wednesday. The festival, with origins in Trinidad, traditionally begins at 4 AM and continues until mid morning on Monday. ) - this is the heart of Carnival for Grenadians. All about Jab Jab - so loved that J’ouvert sometimes repeats itself on Tuesday morning in other parishes around the island with more traditional forms of Carnival (like Ole Mas, where the year’s biggest political and social events are brought to life with double entendres and satirical costumes designed to incite laughter and lightheartedness) Jab Jab - from the French patois diable (devil) - meant as a mockery of the evils West Indians faced during the days of colonisation - Carnival came to the island with European colonisers who held masquerade balls to celebrate Lent

(Lent is a solemn religious observance in the Christian liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry, during which he endured temptation by Satan.) - their slaves drew on West African traditions and ultimately made it their own (Spicemas once existed as a pre-Lenten fest as in many other islands, but Grenada shifted it down to summer in the 80s to make a separate space for itself and its carnival) - Jab Jabs come out at 4am - horned helmets, skin slathered in oil, dragging chains or posies or manikin legs or the front faces of fans behind them, mouths red and clutching salted fish or smoked herring - some carry signs depicting social commentary - some use manner and theatrics to relay their perspectives on issues - all of it plays a part that satirises “The Man” - celebrates resistance and rebellion HEAR - soca music To quickly summarise: The lively and exciting festivals actually originated from years and years of slavery. Seeing that there is a deeper and darker history behind the festivals, along with the research I did in week 1, I decided to focus on the hardships and sufferings Grenadians have gone through as the overarching theme.

Sketches First super rough sketch

Sketches I wanted my 8 images to flow and sync nicely. I also had the idea from the beginning to have the canon in the St George / Fort George image to “shoot out” the words. Moodboard I wanted a font like the one on top, as I felt it has a traditional look to it I settled on a colour palette that encompasses the colours of Grenada’s flag and the colours that appear during the festivals

Final Design A canon shooting out canonballs that spell out the title of the page.

Final Design The ‘‘ above “Devil” is purposely put in that A “cliff” and the letters jumping off – to be in position as I felt that it resembled devil ears. It sync with the Leapers Hill narrative. is also to convey that it is not the actual devil, rather, a metaphor for the evil slave owners.

Final Design The letters falling to match the previous slide. It spells “Jumping right in ...” “to the water” In my final design, the colours are a lot more muted and less saturated than in the moodboard. I felt that it would be more appropriate this way as I am talking about darker themes like slavery etc. I also tried my best to use as little graphics as possible. Reflection: Through this project I got to learn more about typography. Initially when we first got the project brief I was shocked and stressed as I thought a travel brochure without any images or graphics would be impossible. I also learnt how to conduct in-depth research. I found myself constantly searching for information I have already found as I was really afraid that I accidentally stumble across an unreliable website and end up putting something untrue in my brochure. ^ the number of tabs I had open at some point just for Grenada AHAHA ... Lastly, I think I have a new found respect for Grenada as a country. 3 weeks ago I didn’t even know of the existence of Grenada, but after 3 weeks of non stop research and ideating I definitely have a deeper understanding and feel of this country, and if given the chance, I would 100% want to experience Grenada in real life. :”)

References: TripAdvisor: Tripadvisor. (2021). Underwater Sculptures. [online] Available at: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism- g147296-St_George_s_Saint_George_Parish_Grenada-Vacations.html [Accessed 5 Nov. 2021]. Underwater Park: Freeman-Haskin, L. (2019). Grenada’s Underwater Sculpture Park Is A Tribute To African Slaves - Travel Noire. [online] Travel Noire. Available at: https://travelnoire.com/grenada-underwater-sculpture-park-trib- ute-african-slaves [Accessed 4 Nov. 2021]. W‌ ikipedia Contributors (2021). Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molinere_Underwater_Sculpture_Park [Accessed 4 Nov. 2021]. https://web.facebook.com/mildred.e.taylor (2021). The mystery behind Grenada’s haunting underwater sculpture park. [online] Face2Face Africa. Available at: https://face2faceafrica.com/article/the-mystery-be- hind-grenadas-haunting-underwater-sculpture-park [Accessed 4 Nov. 2021]. Leaper’s Hill: G‌ uidetocaribbeanvacations.com. (2021). Carib’s Leap or Leaper’s Hill Grenada. [online] Available at: https:// www.guidetocaribbeanvacations.com/grenada/CaribsLeap.htm [Accessed 4 Nov. 2021]. Grenada (2016). This Day in Grenada History | NOW Grenada. [online] NOW Grenada. Available at: https:// www.nowgrenada.com/2016/05/this-day-in-grenada-history-2/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2021]. Spicemas Festival & Jab Jab: Spicemas Grenada. (2020). Story of The Jab Jab - Spicemas Grenada. [online] Available at: https://spicemas- grenada.com/2020/10/09/story-of-the-jab-jab/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2021]. Donaldson, T. (2017). Inside Grenada’s Spicemas, a Caribbean Carnival of a Different Flavor. [online] HuffPost. Available at: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/inside-grenadas-spicemas-a-caribbean-carni- val-of_b_59a62028e4b05fa16286be33 [Accessed 4 Nov. 2021]. Poppie, T. (2020). The Ultimate Lowdown on Grenada’s Carnival, Spicemas | Caribbean Authority. [online] Caribbean Authority. Available at: https://www.caribbeanauthority.com/spicemas-the-ultimate-lowdown/#- Jab_Jab_Fest [Accessed 4 Nov. 2021]. Pure Breaks. (2021). Spicemas! A Celebration of Grenada - Pure Breaks. [online] Available at: https://pure- breaks.com/spicemas-a-celebration-of-grenada/ [Accessed 5 Nov. 2021]. SN Travel. (2017). Carnival Capers in Grenada - SN Travel. [online] Available at: https://www.sntravel.co.uk/ blog/carnival-capers-grenada/ [Accessed 5 Nov. 2021]. St. George & Fort George skyticket (2017). Grenada: Caribbean Spice Island, Famous for Its Vibrant Coastal Towns and Perfect Sandy Beaches. [online] skyticket Travel Guide. Available at: https://skyticket.com/guide/570#articleHead_5 [Ac- cessed 5 Nov. 2021]. Usnews.com. (2021). St. George’s. [online] Available at: https://travel.usnews.com/Grenada/Things_To_Do/ St_Georges_62763/ [Accessed 5 Nov. 2021]. Pure Grenada. (2020). Fort George - Pure Grenada. [online] Available at: https://www.puregrenada.com/at- tractions/fort-george/ [Accessed 5 Nov. 2021]. Wikipedia Contributors (2021). St. George’s, Grenada. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/St._George%27s,_Grenada [Accessed 5 Nov. 2021]. Dana (2017). The history of Fort George, St. George’s, Grenada. [online] Cariboutdoor.com. Available at: https://blog.cariboutdoor.com/2017/01/fort-george.html [Accessed 5 Nov. 2021]. Grenadaexplorer.com. (2018). Fort George | St. George’s | Grenada Blog. [online] Available at: https://www. grenadaexplorer.com/Island_Guide/GrenadaBlog/fort-george.html [Accessed 5 Nov. 2021]. ‌