Our long-standing client, Bostik, approached us with an aspiration to extend their brand into a training Academy. This opportunity entailed a complete service consisting of brand strategy, design, build and launch — from initial brief right through to completion. The vision was to create a revolutionary knowledge centre for flooring and tiling professionals in the Irish construction industry. Bostik’s fundamental goal was to provide training with specialist flooring, wall and tiling products to demonstrate the best application methods on the market to help professionals with all their future construction projects. We spent some valuable time learning about the training regime before starting any design work, learning everything we could about the needs of the trainers and the professional tiler.   Building The Brand Bostik is a very well established company in the Irish construction industry. As a client of ours for many years, we have been lucky to have a company with great trust in our brand building abilities. Choosing an appropriate brand architecture was a priority in the development of the Bostik Academy. Sub-branding became apparent as the best fit, a structure that allows freedom from the umbrella brand but remains close to Bostik as the parent brand. We felt Bostik’s entry into a new market would best suit creating a new brand image. Luckily bound by our experience with the Bostik brand in the past, we truly understand the company’s core values. This acknowledgement has helped us immensely in creating an extended visual identity, or what is commonly known as the ‘look and feel’ of the brand. The brand’s personality shows clients sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness. These are intangible human traits essential for building trust amongst customers and potential clients. Our principal communication strategy to target potential Bostik Academy clients has been through digital advertising, specifically with the introduction of the Bostik Professional website, targeting businesses through LinkedIn and Instagram for proven effectiveness in sharing a brand’s story. Bostik Academy Structure and Layout With four walls and a blank canvas, Bostik delivered their brief to drawinginc to begin the creative brand process. Drawinginc has been responsible for every decision along the way, from architectural consultation, interior and exterior design and a complete brand strategy. Our team worked on the entire layout from entrance to exit, taking advantage of every space possible to showcase Bostiks’ product systems. Working strategically with Bostik, each challenge encountered was met with the appropriate solution with our client’s best interest at the forefront. Some of our main ideas for inclusion: sign-in system in the lobby, video demonstration area, central training hub, mixing area, visitors canteen, and an outdoor area displaying Bostik’s premium outdoor range. The Bostik Academy required an arrangement strategy tailored to suit a group of new visitors from an interior design perspective. We designed the entire facility to flow continuously according to the setup of new training programmes.   The creative design process unfolded with a concrete schematic design in mind, focusing on branding and company colours, function and quality substrates. Trainees enter the front lobby, met with tablets to sign in, then advance towards the seated video demonstrating room. Bostik required this space to introduce the course layout — our solution, a seated theatre with an interactive whiteboard to present and demonstrate key course outcomes. When completed course introduction procedures, demonstrations move into the focal point of the Academy - the main training area. For Bostik, we designed six training bays to demonstrate floor preparation products and one wall area for wall preparation products, our design approach to the training bays allows reuse at any time. Another unique addition is the mobile demonstration bench. A unit that will enable Bostik Academy instructors to apply products such as sealing and bonding materials on a specially selected worktop that yet again can be cleared and reused at any time. To cater to Bostik’s exterior product portfolio, we have designed partitions at the facility’s exit, which permits Academy instructors to bring professionals outside and complete the entire product portfolio in one demonstration. In the final design phase, all predesigned concepts set a clear road map for the builder to follow in the construction process. Detailed drawings and visuals allowed the contractor to get a crystal clear image of our intentions, a crucial step ensuring optimal execution. From interior elevations to technical details, these documents created a way for all collaborating parties to remain on the same page. Predictably, this became crucial in a successful project.   Interior Design Drawinginc has been entirely responsible for selecting each interior and exterior surface, including substrates. The Academy design inhabits a wide variety of substrates. For the main floor of the training area, we found LVT (Luxury Vinyl Tile) the most appropriate choice for Bostik’s requirements. Specific glass tiles and panels are deployed in suitable locations to add flavour to the Academy. Warm walnut wood accents exist with the solid engineered wood flooring stretching across the main entrance, equipped with underfloor heating. The glass partition in the demonstration room exposes the mesmerising Bostik inspired wallpaper adjacent to the bathroom facilities. This waterproof wallpaper superbly complements large format metallic tiles in the canteen area available to guests because of their similar colour palette. The Bostik brand again heavily influenced faux Leather seating in the training area, as does paint colour creating a moody interior with colourful accents to compliment. The training area is enhanced by including marvellous 3D tiles, in one way for design, but more importantly for Bostik, a showcase of premium product use. The kitchen units work in correspondence with the theme of the Bostik Academy. The exterior of the Academy hosts spectacular large format tiles. Bostik also requested a salute to their history as a company, breaking down a timeline of events from 1889-2015. Displayed on plaques in the main training area is a description of significant Bostik relevant events. Such as the foundation of the Boston Blacking Company in 1889, initially a leather colouring company, now known to be Bostik today. With more notable events through to 2015 where Arkema acquires Bostik. Plaque Displays Keeping in mind that Bostik’s primary product range falls under the construction portfolio, we found it most fitting to exhibit the exact products utilised across the construction process of the Bostik Academy. Our solution to this was in the form of plaques. Our team designed plaques for each substrate with a visual representation presenting a cross-section with a breakdown of materials used and in which order. Showing trainees precisely which products are applied on each surface is a great way to learn correct procedures when applying Bostik products.   Bostik Academy Launch Drawinginc’s responsibility continued to the launch campaign of the Academy. Our team constructed a digital campaign across multiple media channels, most importantly, the new Bostik Academy website launch, found here at: www.bostik-academy.ie. Our campaign responsibilities extended to LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram primarily as additional sources of Bostik customers potentially interested in the Bostik Academy.