ZONA Design, Inc. created programming and promotion package elements for Animal Planet Horse Power, a new program targeted to teens and young women. Horse Power premiered on Animal Planet in February.

Horse Power follows America’s top teenage riders as they and their horses compete for the Maclay National Championship, the biggest junior equestrian competition of the year. Horse Power explores what it takes to make it both in high school and the ring, the pressure and sacrifices of the riders’ families, the athleticism and bravery of the horses, the dedication and ambition of the coaches, and above all, the emotional bond between horse and rider.

For Horse Power, Animal Planet was looking for a playful program open to introduce each of the riders and their horses to their audience. ZONA, the New York-based innovative design agency known for the way in which it strategically integrates color, typography, composition and choreography in the execution of projects, once again demonstrated their creative range with lively and energetic programming and promotion packages.

‘I remember what it was like to be a young girl fascinated by horses. To hold the attention of our demographic we created a strong, graphic, visual attitude to connote horsepower, not glittery pony. We needed to quickly identify each of the competitors and their horses and so took great pains with the storytelling and pacing. These kids are competing and, in addition to their remarkable equestrian skills, there is an element of luck in any competition so we incorporated the horseshoe as a symbol of good fortune and pushed the idea a bit further with the addition of four leaf clovers. Flowers, stars, graphics reminiscent of stickers, interesting blocks of colors, both bright and earthy, and composited live-action footage from the show all give the packages a fresh, honest, clean feeling. Sirens Media and the Animal Planet programming team created an outstanding program which had great elements of storytelling, editing and programming footage shot on HD,’ explained ZONA Creative Director/Designer Zoa Martinez.

‘ZONA Design and Zoa Martinez have a great ‘POP’ sensibility that lent itself perfectly to the packaging of this program targeted at teens and young women,’ stated Animal Planet VP/Creative Director Gheri Arnold.

‘The ZONA team are image makers capable of creating solutions for a wide range of demographics and for all points of contact with the consumer. We have created everything from award-winning sets (including a line of furniture and lighting fixtures), to program and promotion packages, and even designed the bronze medallions for a high profile red carpet gala for this client. So, for Horse Power it was fun to once again demonstrate our design team creative range,’ added ZONA Design Vice President and Executive Producer Dennis Fluet.

The ZONA Design team, known for their distinctive and effective designs, was led by Creative Director/Designer Zoa Martinez, and included Executive Producer Dennis Fluet, Designer Agnes Nowakowska, Project Animator Eric Konon, Senior Animator Andre Sam and Editor Fabien Leon.

ZONA utilized Adobe After Effects, Illustrator and Photoshop, and Apple Final Cut Pro in the execution of this project.

Representing Animal Planet were VP/Creative Director Gheri Arnold, Executive Producer Programming Jeanie Vink, Producer Caroline Ely, and Director of Design Bradley Branch.

Horse Power production company, Sirens Media (Silver Spring, MD) and Co-Founders Rebecca Toth and Valerie Haselton, supplied the live-action footage used in the programming and promotion packages.

Hello Tokyo’s Radio underscores Animal Planet Horse Power.

About ZONA Design:
ZONA Design, founded in 1999, is an award winning multi-disciplined design agency creating results driven work that is bold and direct for all points of contact with the consumer in the general, Hispanic, and youth markets. The company portfolio includes high profile projects for Disney/ESPN Networks, AOL Time Warner Networks, 5Boro Skateboards, Discovery Communications, Encore Media Group, Rainbow Media Holdings, Chrysler, Dodge, and the various A&E Networks.

ZONA Design, Inc. is headquartered in the Empire State Building, 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 321, New York, NY 10118. For additional information, or to see a reel, contact VP/Executive Producer Dennis Fluet at [email protected] or by phone at 212.244.2900. Visit the ZONA Design web site at www.zonadesign.com. ZONA Design is a certified Minority Woman Business Enterprise from the NYNJ Council (NMSDC) and New York City. ZONA Design is also a 2004 and 2005 Hispanic Trends Magazine Top 100 Entrepreneur.