Trader Jack's

Welcome back to another Designerland post--I hope you all had a great weekend! This week, I'd like to share a thought. Now it’s nothing new or original, just once again dusting off the past for the fans of today! After last week’s Polynesian Resort type post, I received some emails from readers who really enjoyed the case study, so I decided to roll out this concept today for us Poly fans.

With the ever-growing popularity of Disneyland's Trader Sam's, I feel that TDO and WDI should seriously consider bringing something similar to the east coast, now that the Adventurers Club is gone. Some of you may recall that Disney World once had a tropical-themed dive located at the Polynesian Resort--Trader Jack's Grog Hut! I, for one, would love to see Disney roll out a similar, updated Tiki bar based on the long-forgotten Trader Jack's...new menu, new look, new gags but the same vibe.

Personally, I wish they would just bring Trader Jack's back to the Polynesian Resort. It could also fit in at Downtown Disney where there is more traffic passing through, but with the ever in-flux state of DTD and what once was Pleasure Island, I'm not sure how well it would work in that locale. Regardless of where it turns up, it could be the east coast’s version of Trader Sam's.

With that said, here are a few merchandise concepts I worked up for this hypothetical Tiki bar. One apparel concept displays a logo I came up with (in an off-set matchbook print look) that draws inspiration from the original Polynesian Village/Resort logo. The second apparel concept is just something whimsical and wacky, hence the display font.

Now no good Tiki bar is complete without the option to take home a Tiki mug, so I combined the two main Polynesian Tiki icons into one to create the Kapu Cup. If I could have only one Tiki mug in my collection, I would want something similar to this.

Well that's all for this week. Hope you enjoy the concepts and thanks for stopping by. Have a great week and see you all real soon!

The Polynesian Resort

Welcome back to another edition of our Designerland typography case studies. This week, we'll jump back on the monorail and head over to another Disney home away from home, the Polynesian Resort.

When looking at the type treatments throughout the resort, one thing is certain: this resort is loaded with display fonts. These are all heavily-themed tropical (and sometimes comical) display fonts. This makes sense, given the tropical theme, but if you compare these fonts to a Disney resort actually located on a Polynesian island, you'll see a big difference. The Aulani doesn't need to really need to shove the tropical theme in your face since you're actually IN Hawaii, so the typography there is a little more subdued.

When the Polynesian first opened under the original name, the Polynesian Village, Disney designers used a more 70’s, non-tropical font to brand the hotel. The font Blippo, designed by typographer Robert Trogman, was used to typeset the logo, but over time those whimsical tropical display fonts crept their way in and made the Poly their home. In the 90’s we see Blippo replaced with Rusticana, which was designed by Frutiger as part of a type revival for the Linotype Foundry.  

I'm a huge fan of the Poly and I always loved how even down to the fonts, the resort reflects the beloved kitsch from the late 50’s and early 60’s. The fonts help tell the story even if sometimes it hits us over the head with tiki goodness (although in my opinion you can never have enough). Well that does it for this week’s post. Tune in next week for a new Retro '71 shirt concept. Thanks for dropping in and I hope you all have a swell week!

Retro 71

This week’s Retro 71 concept is a special twofer. The concepts are based on my favorite resort, The Polynesian Resort. The Polynesian Resort was one of the original hotel concepts dreamed up by WED Imagineering for the Walt Disney World Resort, and it opened the same year as the theme park in 1971 under its original name, The Polynesian Village. The resort has not only grown in size due to its popularity, but it has also seen some changes in its look and branding. From fonts to color palettes, to pools to interior decor, the resort has evolved over the years.

When thinking of shirt concepts for the Polynesian Resort, I wanted to pay tribute to the original name of the resort and use the original logo with the iconic tiki idol. I love all the old branding where the designers used the main tiki idol on pretty much everything from hand soap wrappers to shot glasses (aka tooth pick holders), from frosted libation mugs to even "privacy please" door hanger signs. Nowadays he's seen in a few places around the resort, most notably on trash cans.

The first shirt concept is the classic logo. I tried to plus the design by changing the colors to match the original tile floor of the resort. The original color palette of the resort consisted of deep browns, aqua teals and mossy looking yellowish greens, and I wanted to bring that back to keep it consistent with the overall look of these shirts. I picture this design on a vintage ringer that has color banding around the arms and neck in either a dark brown or the same color as the resort name depicted on the shirt.

The second shirt concept is our favorite tiki idol, but with his legs! Today, only a couple of locations remain where you can still see him depicted with his jaunty little legs. Keeping the color story consistent with the first shirt, I incorporated the same color palette.  I believe it really captures the feel and tone of the resort from back in the day. When looking at the shirts next to each other, I can imagine seeing them sold together at the Boutiki in the Great Ceremonial House. In my downtime, I've come up with an entire product line that includes these two shirts along with a few other fun tropical treasures that celebrate the history and traditions of this amazing resort.

Well that about does it for this week’s Retro 71 segment. I hope you enjoyed the designs! Until next time, have a swell week and be on the lookout for a new soundboard coming soon, not to mention even further looks into the typefaces used on some of our favorite Disney Theme Park attractions. See ya soon!