Overview
I’ve worked with Amy since 2021 on different areas of her business. Things really took off with her Cyber Escape Room Co. creation which started as physical puzzles for companies in order to not only adjust cyber security awareness but build culture (what people do when no one is looking) for their staff. No one needs another PowerPoint after all. CERCo has since grown to include large scale installations, online cyber escape room, vishing training and more.
I initially worked ad-hoc on a variety of work, and I’m now a design partner for CERCo.
Together we’ve accomplished:
- Creating visual consistency through all of CERCo.
- Brand new manuals for each ESC game, creating a cohesive and easy to read through experience
- Studio photography for all ESC games which helps with all my design work
- Branding for CERCo., ESC, Shift, Space…
- Tightening up of the visual brand across CERCo. and all sub-divisions
- Template based creations so the team can edit as needed, using both InDesign and Canva (whichever works best for the application and the team members using it).
logo suite
The idea was simple. We started with ESC and it being a simple key from the keyboard. The shape was then reflected throughout the different divisions and used in the elements, such as button shapes, image masks and so on.
ESC eventually became a division which deals specifically with the physical escape rooms which are sent to companies. These scenarios are contained within backpacks and boxes. CERCo. took over as the main company brand with each sub division having it’s slightly different look.
esc game manuals
I redesigned each of the ESC manuals from scratch to bring them together with a consistent look, using plenty of white space so the reader can skim through easily. Photography of the escape rooms played a big part in these (more on this down the page).
Whilst they’re primarily used digitally, I also set them up ready to go to print with a few minor modifications, because having a physical document ditches the need to zoom in on a screen and your devices can be left in your pocket. Here’s a few pages from Elementary’s manual.
A consistent look.
I’ve brought a lot of documents in line with this look so their visuals follow through from start to finish. From the proposals and quotes, to the marketing material and games themselves then also as you’ll see later, post-escape room certificates. Here’s an example of a editorial article for CTRL+VISH.
Certificates
Once an ESC scenario is complete, players get a certificate. We wanted this to resemble a certificate people are proud to place on their walls but also be unmistakably CERCo.
These experiences are made for groups of employees meaning a fair few people go through these scenarios at once… so Amy linked this up to her automation in order for the certs to autofill and send. Fancy!
Livia was recommended when searching for a graphic designer to help design our brand, and well… I can see why she gets recommendations left right and centre. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the process having not working with a graphic designer before but Livia was absolutely fantastic. She took the time to get to know us as a business and really delved into our industry to come up with creative and innovative concepts for our logo.
She communicated fantastically, met every deadline and put up with us to-ing and fro-ing on ideas to make sure we had the design we love. I couldn’t recommend her more. She was just a delight to work with. THANK YOU Livia for helping at this critical stage in our business journey, being super lovely to work with and coming up with some amazing ideas! We’ll definitely be back when we need more design services in the future!
— Amy Stokes-Waters, Founder of The Cyber Escape Room Co.
SPACE_ Brochure + plumprints
Space has a slightly more upscale look to it using the dark plum. Amy wanted to see blueprint style imagery within these as they are large scenarios which people work inside of in order to solve the issue at hand. Literally, phone booths, a SOC room, a train…
creative assets
These experiences need to be dressed and also advertised so I created these assets to be used both digitally and in person.
These are used within the phone booths for example – see added graffiti on the gig poster – as well as provided to the clients to help promote the experience to their staff.
They have all been created in a way that some text can be adjusted and company logos added so ESC’s customers can promote these events in a much better way than the standard comic sans posters you see around the office 😬. They are available in landscape for screen use too.
photography
Before I started this role I knew that having studio photography of the physical cyber escape rooms for ESC would be hugely beneficial for my ideas going forward.
I’m not a photographer but with two studio lights, a tripod, backdrops, a Nikon and flashgun I got to work to get it done in a short space of time whilst also getting to familiarise myself with the games themselves which was great. I took shots of the games in full and also separate items. These photos went on to feature throughout the manuals so that people could see exactly what they’re looking at, as well as into the marketing material to show exactly what people would get for their teams to learn with. Here are a few snippets.
