I do like Dudley a great deal, and its being very much 'on the up' is a cause for real celebration. One area where they are exceptionally poor, however, is in their corporate image: their logo is shockingly poor, their publications have little or no style to their design, and their use of this awful font in all of their signage looks so cheap! Of course I would rather they spend money on improving their snow leopard accommodation than on paying for some bloke in a turtle-neck jumper to rebrand the place, but given the very real beauty and elegance of so much of the zoo's architecture, surely some attention could be given to design in their production of printed material.
I do like Dudley a great deal, and its being very much 'on the up' is a cause for real celebration. One area where they are exceptionally poor, however, is in their corporate image: their logo is shockingly poor, their publications have little or no style to their design, and their use of this awful font in all of their signage looks so cheap! Of course I would rather they spend money on improving their snow leopard accommodation than on paying for some bloke in a turtle-neck jumper to rebrand the place, but given the very real beauty and elegance of so much of the zoo's architecture, surely some attention could be given to design in their production of printed material.
I have to agree with all of this; DZG does have a bit of an image problem at the moment. However, I think the font, logo etc. are only minor issues (that most people don't pay much attention to) and don't really affect visitor numbers in a big way. What does concern me at the moment is the terrible state of the entrance.
Access to the zoo by car is now much easier off the Tipton Road and the new car park is much smarter, giving a better first impression. Also, it is far better entering the zoo straight from the car park instead of having to walk up a main road first. But here's my gripe; most of the new car park still isn't open, or finished, and all of the old car park (which you have to walk through to get to the entrance) is barricaded off, for some reason, and full of construction materials.
So now you reach the exterior of the newly restored shop/entrance which is just dull grey box - there isn't even a large, leafy "Welcome To Dudley Zoo" sign or any indication you are approaching a zoo. In my mind it looks like a public convenience that the council built. On the other hand, the inside of the building is fantastic. Spacious, bright, clean and airy, it's a humongous improvement and something to be truly proud of.
Now you've paid and gone through the entrance you're faced with a new, and rather impressive, Gelada baboon enclosure extending up the steep grassy hillside and that superb, recently restored, vintage chairlift to the left of that. But look to the right and there's the dingiest fairground you've ever seen (it can't be much of an earner for them). It's only small, but looks plain scruffy and you walk through part of it to get to the baboon house - surely that's not right!
Carry on walking past the fairground and you reach another construction site. Yes I know it's only temporary for the bear ravine, but someone visiting for the first time, with no knowledge of the zoo, may wonder what on earth is going on at this point!
Now for the logo. I think it's ok but why is the tiger white? Have they ever held white tigers? Maybe it saves money on ink. Nonetheless, I think the logo should be a tiger, as they've had some success with tigers in the past and the zoo has turned their current pair into minor celebrities on the zoos daily news updates webpage. Perhaps they could incorporate the castle in some way; its a very unique feature.
Dudley's image in the past has of course been tarnished by its exhibits, however, in the last 10 years it's done nothing but improve in my opinion and DZG now has some very good (some excellent) exhibits: Baboons, red pandas, otters, lions, lemur walkthrough, hunting dogs, gibbons, penguins, chimps and the monkey tails building are my favourites.
The animal exhibits I think have the biggest negative affect on DZGs image (or ones I dislike the most) are:
Giraffes (slightly small size)
Tapir (small house, total lack of greenery, poor viewing)
Kangaroo (very small and bare)
Barbary sheep (slightly too small)
Tigers (slightly too small and slightly bare)
Orang (outdoor area (though massively improved))
Sea lion pools (slightly too small/ shallow, needs restoring in places)
Some of the small monkey cages (could be bigger and greener)
Peccary (total lack of greenery)
Reindeer (very bare/ featureless)
Farmyard (scruffy looking; especially behind the barn)
Camels (small)
I know I've been overly harsh on some aspects, because these things are, after all, down to money, time, money, space and money! Even so, despite everything, DZG has done nothing but improve lately and, like Sooty Mangabey said above, this should be celebrated.
However, I think the font, logo etc. are only minor issues (that most people don't pay much attention to) and don't really affect visitor numbers in a big way.
Of course, you're absolutely right - nobody ever decided to visit a zoo because they liked the font that that zoo used in its publicity material, and nobody's visit to a zoo was ever enhanced by the fact of that zoo having a stylish, well-designed logo.
However, the importance of creating and then constantly enforcing a brand identity cannot be overstated, in my opinion. Yes, the 'product' needs to be right first - and at Dudley, I think that product is more right than it has been for as long as I have been visiting the zoo (and it was the first zoo I ever visited, in ca 1972!) - but once that product is good, the branding needs to support it. The very large amounts of money spent on such things by big multinational companies point to the importance of creating a brand as one looks to making a product successful.
I think this particularly applies to Dudley, more than to any other UK zoo, as the place has had a particular image, in part because of its own shortcomings (the damage done to its reputation by the ape house, and in the past the elephant house, will take many years to erase) and in part because it has a lot to contend with (it's located in a less-than-lovely area). It needs to have a very carefully managed brand image if it is going to break through into the top bracket of visitor numbers.
In the UK, I think there are several zoos which have been very successful in this area. That's not to say I like their brand identity, but rather that they have succeeded in creating such an identity, which is consistent and in sympathy with what they are actually doing and how they want to be seen. ZSL and Drusillas have got it; Paignton aren't bad. Colchester, like Dudley, could do with spending some time with a branding consultant!
I'd wholly agree that this stuff matters. Again, nobody goes to a zoo because it has a nice entrance, but a poor first impression has a big impact.
Is the situation you describe only temporary, while developments are on-going? It would be a real shame if, in focussing on this area, they didn't get things right, as, presumably, they are unlikely to look again at this aspect again for a few years now.....
Thankfully the situation should only be temporary. It's just unfortunate that all the developments have come at the same time and that each project takes a very long time to complete. They can't win though can they: we spend years calling for change, then once it finally happens we moan about it (or I do anyway)!
Once the new and old car park are done, the walk up to entrance is spruced up, the building is painted, a proper sign is added and the bear ravine is finished then it'll look very nice indeed, giving a far better first impression - they're all steps in the right direction. However, I don't think they'll get rid of the fairground and there is also the construction of the trilobite building in the pipeline.
But look to the right and there's the dingiest fairground you've ever seen..... It's only small, but looks plain scruffy and you walk through part of it to get to the baboon house - surely that's not right!
That could have described the scene in the 1960's too, when Mandrills lived in a raised circus-type cage adjacent to the fairground....
Yes, they did have White Tiger, when Bristol Zoo loaned them one(?) in the 70/80's era when they(Bristol) were helping bail Dudley out of one of their not in-frequent difficult financial periods. It was later returned to Bristol. For the record this specimen,as well as being White, was probably the last pure Indian tiger in the UK too.
Dudley's image in the past has of course been tarnished by its exhibits, however, in the last 10 years it's done nothing but improve in my opinion and DZG now has some very good (some excellent) exhibits: Baboons, red pandas, otters, lions, lemur walkthrough, hunting dogs, gibbons, penguins, chimps and the monkey tails building are my favourites.
The animal exhibits I think have the biggest negative affect on DZGs image (or ones I dislike the most) are:
Giraffes (slightly small size)
Tapir (small house, total lack of greenery, poor viewing)
Kangaroo (very small and bare)
Barbary sheep (slightly too small)
Tigers (slightly too small and slightly bare)
Orang (outdoor area (though massively improved))
Sea lion pools (slightly too small/ shallow, needs restoring in places)
Some of the small monkey cages (could be bigger and greener)
Peccary (total lack of greenery)
Reindeer (very bare/ featureless)
Farmyard (scruffy looking; especially behind the barn)
Camels (small)
I am also a big fan of Dudley Zoo but I know what you mean, most of the Dudley enclosures are a bit on the small side for the times we now live in, but of course most of them have a long history.For me it has always been a collection that has been held back, for a variety of reasons, and it has never really gained the status that it should have done, which is a shame.
It deserves to "do better" and gain more support as long as it continues to strive to improve.
I had heard that the Barbary Sheep enclosure was to be turned into an enclosure for Snow Leopards but I don`t know if this is still the case?
I am also a big fan of Dudley Zoo but I know what you mean, most of the Dudley enclosures are a bit on the small side for the times we now live in, but of course most of them have a long history.For me it has always been a collection that has been held back, for a variety of reasons, and it has never really gained the status that it should have done, which is a shame.
It deserves to "do better" and gain more support as long as it continues to strive to improve.
I had heard that the Barbary Sheep enclosure was to be turned into an enclosure for Snow Leopards but I don`t know if this is still the case?
I can't really see the advantage to that, it doesn't seem much bigger. Having to put up new fencing would probably wouldn't make that part of the zoo look better.
I also can't think where you would put a indoor exhibit there. I doubt the snow leopards get very cold, but you'd still need one for separating the pair when they have a cub, or for cleaning.
But if they did find a way, and moved the sheep to the slopes, then the current snow leopard enclosure would be great for large birds or small monkeys, or smaller cats.
But look to the right and there's the dingiest fairground you've ever seen (it can't be much of an earner for them). It's only small, but looks plain scruffy and you walk through part of it to get to the baboon house - surely that's not right!
I agree - the fairground grates on my nerves every time I go through it! It looks so tatty and drags down the lower area of the zoo and very rarely seems to have any custom. From memory, a lot of the rides haven't changed for 30+ years and are really showing their age. I think the best thing DZG could do is bulldoze the lot and use the space for a new animal enclosure.
I also agree with the comments about the approach from the car park and the lack of a 'Welcome to DZG' on the new entrance but I'm so pleased to see all the improvements in recent years that I'm content to wait a little longer for these.
Personally, I quite like the logo and the fonts used in publicity, although it would be good if the castle could be incorporated into the logo.
