The Concept Stadium | Games of the Small States of Europe Malta 2023
Idea Generation | Mascot Design | Creation of Illustrations in various poses
I never imagined I could create something that would eventually high-five the Minister for Culture / Parliamentary Secretary and spark so much enthusiasm among kids.
In 2022 I was approached by local agency The Concept Stadium – who were already at an advanced stage of developing the Games of the Small States of Europe Malta 2023 (GSSE) / “Il-Logħob tal-Pajjiżi ż-Żgħar tal-Ewropa” brand identity – in order to develop the idea of having a fish with Maltese connotations as a mascot.
Through a process of research, sketching and exploration I eventually came up with this little, cheerful, anthropomorphic, colourful and sporty “lampuka” (dorado fish). During one of our email correspondences I casually nicknamed the mascot as Puka (derived from “lampuka”) and eventually that became the official name. The skilled team at The Concept Stadium later adapted Puka to various contexts – including print, animation, web and social media, a life-size mascot, soft-toys, t-shirts and so on.
