Traditional Mooncakes
Process Manual
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Table of Contents
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Introduction
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About Purpose Mission Statement
Case Studies
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Initial Sketches Digital Iterations Final Logo
Graphic Standard Logo Specification Color Palette Logo Variations Logo Usage Typography Business System
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Strategy Advertisements Web Application Merchandise
Overview Honeycomb Pea pods Lotus Flower
Logo Development
Marketing Applications
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Creative Brief
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Packaging
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Initial Sketches Iterations Layout Labeling Design Assembly Process Final Packaging
Design Analysis
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Introduction
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About Yue Cake is a traditional mooncake company with a modern flare. Since mooncakes are normally seasonal we want to give a more open outlook with our product and present you a delicious traditional Chinese pastry any time of the year. Our product comes with many flavors and an inviting package to give you the sense of both elegant but also traditional feeling at the same time.
Purpose This documents my design process and initial planning in designing “Yue Cake� brand from the beginning of the thought process to the final design and packaging.
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Mission Statement Our mission here at Yue Cake is to modernize mooncakes while still being able to keep that traditional flare. We aim towards the younger audience to spark that traditional feeling in a sustainable and creative way. Yue Cake aims to be able to make mooncakes a more familiar pastry outside of the Chinese traditions. Together we will bring the taste of the moon closer to you.
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Case Studies
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Overview Honeycomb
Pea pods
Lotus Flower
Honeycombs are naturally nature’s compartments, known to contain honey, these structures are shaped as hexagons as bees fill them with pollen to product honey. It’s pattern is really effective in being compact and organized.
Pea pods are a vegetable that grow and produce peas within their pod. This pod is very protective as it is able to protect the contents while also tightly packing them together. All while being edible.
Lotus flowers are well known for their beautiful patterns as they bloom as they seem to float on water. Conveniently the seeds are made into a paste and used as a main ingredient in mooncakes.
Pea pods are a good example on how we would package our mini mooncakes in order to protect them while they are being transported.
The whole plant itself is able to regulate it’s own temperature to continue to grown in colder areas. Since it isn’t sure what completely causes this, to replicate the use of this ability, the glossy feeling of 60lb card stock best replicates a waxy coating.
Yue Cake’s packaging utilizes the honeycomb’s shape to effectively pack and ship together for ease of transportation.
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Honeycomb Works Cited Images http://images.wisegeek.com/piece-of-a-honeycomb.jpg http://ednaskincare.com/wp-content/uploads/Bees-on-Honeycomb. jpg Information http://keepingbee.org/bee-honeycomb/
Honeycomb:
Properties:
In design:
Honeycombs are hexagonal nest for honey bees to store pollen to make honey. The form together to make a hive and protects these honeycombs in organized fashion. The hive is formed similarly to a cocoon and acts as protection for the bees.
Honeycombs have a hexagonal shape and are combined together to form their hive. This nest has the ability to hold up around 1 lb worth of honey. Honey is such a sticky and thick liquid that it also has a lot of weight to it as well and some hives are seen to grow from ceilings making the structure very strong and sturdy.
The hexagonal shape works perfectly for my packaging design because of how convenient it is when packaging together and most importantly, transporting. The design is also sturdy in numbers so this helps protect the contents better.
Pattern Sketches
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Peapods Works Cited Images - http://www.livestrong.com/article/178399-pea-pod-nutrition/ - http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/close-up-of-peas-inpea-pod-royalty-free-image/492648243 Information - “Pisum Sativum.” N.p., n.d. Web. <http://eol.org/pages/703192/ details>. - Gilbert, Cindy. “Lessons from a Pea Pod.” N.p., n.d. Web. <https:// www.linkedin.com/pulse/lessons-from-pea-pod-cindy-gilbert>.
Pea-pods:
Properties:
In design:
Pisum sativum, also known as peapods, are part vegetable and part fruit. The outer layer is botanically a fruit but the peas themselves are the vegetables. They grow on vines that can grow up to be 1 to 2 meters high and normally are planted from winter to early summer depending on where they are located.
Peapods grow to have an outer layer that protects the peas as they grow and mature. These outer layers provide enough protection to the peas in certain temperatures because of their pod walls which are rich in lignin. Peapods are also waterproof and very flexible, and some are edible.
Since the peapods have a protective outer layer that keeps the peas packed together, food products that are very fragile and or crumble easily can utilize this by having a designed package that keeps the contents protected in a row. Using a pod-like method to section off and tightly pack the contents will keep contents safe. This design can use lightweight materials as well.
Pattern Sketches
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Lotus Flower Works Cited Images - https://www.reference.com/world-view/lotus-flower-symbolize-57fc095dd6f5d5a8 - https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/chiwonlee/plsc211/student%20 papers/articles09/elizabeth%20larson/lotusflower/New%20Folder/ Lotus%20flower.html Information - “Lotus Flower Meaning.” Flower Meaning. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Aug. 2016. <http://www.flowermeaning.com/lotus-flower-meaning/>. - “Lotus Flowers.” N.p., n.d. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theflowerexpert.com%2Fcontent%2Faboutflowers%2Fexoticflowers%2Flo-
Lotus:
Properties:
In design:
Nelmbo nucifera, also known as lotus, is an aquatic perennial due to their seeds that remain viable throughout many years. They grow in the soil of ponds or river bottoms. Their leaves float to the top of the water surface while the flower grows in vibrant colors. This can make it seem as if lotuses are floating on the surface.
Lotuses have an amazing ability to regulate the temperature of its flowers, similar to how warm-blooded mammals do. Although they only bloom in warm temperatures they are able to maintain certain temperatures even when air temperature drops to 10 °C. The plant itself is also edible; the flower, seeds, leaves, and roots are used in foods around the world.
Since the lotus has the ability to regulate its temperature, a design idea is to create a packaging that allows itself to also regulate the temperature of the food it contains. By doing so this allows the food to stay fresher and possibly last longer in colder environments.
Pattern Sketches
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Logo Development
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Initial Sketches The Yue Cake logo is a logo that uses a lot of representation of Chinese language. Our logo uses the Chinese character for “moon” as “yue” (pronounced as yuè) as a play on the name mooncakes. This gives the logo a sense of connection to our product but also still tie into some Chinese characters. The logo is formated as a traditional stamp as each element is stacked up on each other to give it an elegant but modern look to it. When creating this logo the inspiration came from keeping the design to be very traditional and have it relate back to the it’s cultural ties. Though we also wanted to give a more inviting look and have it relate more to the moon since it was a recurring theme. The idea of using brush strokes later came to play to give it a more traditional feel.
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Digital Iterations As the initial idea became more solidified the goal was then switched to making the logo more readable and elegant, even straying away from the traditional brush stroke idea I decided to look into script serif fonts that best replicate what I had in mind for Yue Cake. The logo started to see shape and ended up being more condensed rather than having the character far apart.
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Final Logo The final logo was then shortly decided after completely removing the brush strokes to give it a more elegant look to relate to the product’s packaging. The logo still utilizes the Chinese character translation of “moon” and is more stacked to represent more of a traditional Chinese stamp. The small pattern above the Yue Cake is a common mooncake pattern of a lotus to go back to it’s roots in using lotus seed paste as a common filling. And although most traditional stamps use a more rounded vertical rectangle, I decided to go with a circle to further represent the wholeness of a full moon and tie it into a variation of a stamp.
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Graphic Standard
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4.8 y
Logo Specifications The logo dimensions must stay portion to the measurements given. The letter â&#x20AC;&#x153;yâ&#x20AC;? can be changed to any form of measure as long as they stay consistent. Along with the dimensions is a 1x1 inch version to show that the logo is still readable at the minimum measurements.
1.4 y
4.7 y 2.2 y
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1in 1in
CAK 3.0 y
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Color Palette
c=3, m=10, y=83, k=0 r=88, g=0, b=71
c=24, m=97, y=91, k=27 r=88, g=0, b=71
c=69, m=56, y=61, k=41 r=67, g=74, b=71
c=74, m=21, y=100, k=4 r=77, g=146, b=66
c=75, m=68, y=67, k=90 r=2, g=1, b=0
c=13, m=10, y=13, k=0 r=218, g=218, b=218
This is the official color palette for Yue Cake Company. These color not only represent the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business system but also some of our different flavors we have in our mooncake fillings. This palette is not to be altered in any sort of way and any usage of our company must retain to these colors.
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Logo Variations These are the different logo variations we have for Yue Cake as well as the different flavors for the fillings inside our own mooncakes. These variations are only different from the fill color itself, giving it a more simple and clean cut look.
Lotus Seed Paste c=3, m=10, y=83, k=0
Black Sesame c=69, m=56, y=61, k=41
Red Bean Paste c=24, m=97, y=91, k=27
Matcha Green Tea c=74, m=21, y=100, k=4 19
Appropriate Usage These are our appropriate usage of our logo. Please do not alter them in any sort of way. Our logo can be used in scaled down, be used in gray-scale, be in a different stroke color and background color as long as it retains to our color palette.
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Do not skew the logo.
Do not rotate or tilt the logo.
Inappropriate Usage These are the inappropriate uses of our logo. Please do not use any of these variations along with our products. Do not mix random colors.
Do not use a different color from the palette.
Please do not skew, change or use colors outside our color palette, change the opacity, and rotate it in any sort of way.
CAK Do not change the opacity.
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Avenir Next LT Pro Regular ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ~!@#$%^&
Typography Avenir Next LT Pro is used up to 10 pt, and 45 pt Bold for headers. Avenir Next LT Pro is only to be used for company information and business cards relating to the company. Source Sans Pro is used up to 10pt font in business writing only. The font is not allowed for any use except for the body type of our business system. Optima Normal is used for the logo of Yue Cake, and is part of the official branding of our company. The typeface is used for the logo only.
Source Sans Pro Regular ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxz ~!@#$%^&
Optima Normal ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxz ~!@#$%^&
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Business System
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Letter-head Yue Cakeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s letter-head design focuses on simple yet elegant design. Using only the branding colors and the logo that is carefully placed in certain areas. The dimensions of both the letter-head and the added folder design is 8.5x11 inches.
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Business Card & Envelope Our business cards design plays on that same simplicity to appeal and attract our audience. Our cards displays both a since of professionalism and convenience when holding the card. And our envelope only has our logo and our return address because too much may be too busy. Dimensions for Business Cards: 3.5x2 inches Dimensions for Envelope: 4 1/8x9 1/2 inches
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Marketing Application
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Stratgery Yue Cakeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal to is modernize traditional mooncakes so our targeted audience is towards the new generation. Our targeted age group is between 18 to 25, college students who just graduated or have a job with an Chinese background. We decided to market towards and Asian community first before branching out to other communities and slowly introduce our product. Our product is to attract our audience with a simple modern design that sparks traditional values.
Advertisement Since our targeted audience are around college students to young adults we plan to advertise in areas such as super markets and festival events. Billboards and bus shelters work very well for those on the go especially towards big markets such as 99 Ranch and Wing Wa Super Market. We use our branding colors to attract our audience and creative patterns to give a traditional vibe to our advertising.
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Bus Shelter
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Billboard
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Web Application Yue Cake’s website stays with it’s simplistic style so that it’s also easy to use as well. We want to keep our traditional with a modern flare look to be viable and not too confusing for our audience. The website is used more for online shopping and keeping up with new updates to our company. But more importantly to get more information about us and what we are as a company.
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Merchandise Yue Cakeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s merchandise has a wide selection from reusable bag, accessories, and clothing. Clothing being our main and popular merchandise. Here at Yue Cake we value on apparel as second to our actual products. Clothing is something we know is very popular within our main audience.
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Creative Brief
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Needs
Project Objective
Project Strategy
The needs of this project are to expand the demographic in age with the newer and younger generation in order to keep a more traditional feel but also give it a more modern design.
The project objective is to create a packaging that is not only appealing to newer and younger generations but also be more temperature friendly while keeping the contents protected and longer laster. And most importantly to reduce the amount of waste produced from my product.
The project package would be reusable container that can fold into a flat container when needed. The container will be standing vertical, shaped similarly to a lantern, while rice paper will be used to wrap around the product. Would be able to contain one big mooncake or 4 miniature mooncakes. In regards of advertising, there will be billboards, posters stands near the product, and merchandise such as bas, shirts, and stickers that will further help advertise the product.
Background
Message
Audience
Currently Moon cakes are packaged in aluminum tins that have thin plastic molds that will hold the mooncakes. They’re normally cardboard boxes but they don’t last as long and usually made for looks rather than for efficient packaging. The market is usually towards older Asians for traditional values during the Autumn Festival.
Pur goal is to bring the taste of tradition to you, from families, to memories, to taste. “To bring the moon closer to you.”
Main Audience: Millennials from a Chinese background, around the age of 18 - 25. Marketed to those who have a job or currently in college, have some sort of relation or tie towards old traditions or the product sparks an interest in those traditions. Appealing towards a modern look. Looking for affordable yet reasonable price.
For this packaging I want to be able to still retain that traditional value in the packaging but marketed to millennials of the same audience to give it a more modern flare yet still traditional.
Older or middle aged Asian Families. working class or even possibly retired, marketed towards their traditional values, around theages of 25 and older. Other Audiences: Millennials of other cultures, ages 18- 25, working class or in college, attracted to modern or creative look in foods and open to try new things.
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Packaging
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Initial Sketches The initial ideas started out as a horizontal packaging that would hold multiple mooncakes on its side similar to pea pod design. The idea was then later switched to and inspired by a traditional Chinese lantern design, a hexagon. This idea was changed to hold only one mooncake or four miniature ones in a easy to carry design.
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Initial Design The lantern shape idea was then taking into place and began forming ideas by using origami to fold my packaging, giving it a more flexible and easy to put away or recycle feeling to it. The design came from a hexagonal box that came with both a lid fold and a base fold and uses up to four sheets of paper to make.
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Layout These are the crease patterns for the origami packaging idea. It takes four pieces of material of an equal square on all sides, two pieces for the base and lid. The patterns must have to be correct or the folds will warp the finalized shape at the end. The size of the material does not matter as long as it is an equal square but Yue Cake uses a 8.5x8,5 in square. Base
Lid
Labeling All labeling is done on the bottom using stickers., because this is an origami fold, planning the labels within the folds take a very long time and may not come out to be correct. By making them into stickers this reinforces the form of the packaging thus making stronger. A tag with the logo is also tied together with a gold colored cord that will add a bit more traditional feeling to it. behind the tag comes with one of the many stories of mooncakes and the Mid-Autumn Festival.
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Assembelly Process The packaging was printed on 60lb card stock allowing to be folded and still maintain a sturdy feel to it. A pattern was then applied to give a more elegant feeling to it to match the Chinese lantern feeling. The tags were also printed on 60lb card stock and are folded to fit with the theme of the packaging. The stickers are then printed on matte for the nutritional information and glossy for the sealing sticker. The folds are then put together and a cord with the tag is wrapped around to give it an authentic look while the sticker acts as a stamp or seal to the packaging.
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Final Packaging The final packaging is made using a thin but study paper core material normally seen in to go packaging for Asian pastries. The inside also as a wax coating to best represent the lotus flowers temperature controlling abilities. Inside the packaging is a layer of rice paper to also prevent sticking to the packaging but to softly protect the mooncakes insides from sliding or crumbling while in transportation.
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Design Analysis
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Introduction
Methodology
Evaluation
Yue Cake’s goal is to create a packaging that not only looks and feels modern but to also keep with its traditional values. We the designers aim to design a package where it is not only sustainable but also reduces the amount of waste from moon cakes to help create or better the environment with a traditional feel.
Year 1 Yue Cake’s initial process is to start off as an small bakery within super markets such as 99 Ranch or other well-known Asian Markets. By doing so this gives us self-advertisement in local well-known areas.
To be able to meet our goals we plan to do research in certain areas within the Sacramento to San Francisco areas to determine what super markets to known to sell baked goods on call. This means visiting those said markets to advertise to them our product and production to ideally work a deal with them in order to product and sell our products.
Year 2 The company then aims advertise typically around the time of the Autumn Festival, allowing our audience to know that we provide a new look to our traditional mooncakes. As we being to gain popularity we will introduce other flavors in both the filling and crust, to attract more different audiences slowly.
Problem Statement Normally moon cakes are sold in tins with a total of at least four cakes inside. Moon cakes typically don’t last that long and would often end up being thrown out causing a lot of waste. About two million mooncakes are thrown away each year in Hong Kong alone. Yue Cake’s packaging is design to limit that waste and uses better material that is more suited for recycling.
Objectives The company plans to slowly explain from small sections in super markets to becoming its own bakery to expand its products to more traditional pastries. Yue Cake wants to start locally in super markets to advertise in the small bakery areas that they have. In the future we see the company expanding to more local areas being able to sell traditional pastries to all audiences.
Year 3 From there the company plans to explain outside the market areas and into special events that are held normally during the season, typically during the Autumn Festival, Yue Cake will also be selling and producing mooncakes during certain events during the time, showing a live demonstration on how our mooncakes and packaging are made and then served in our packaging will help give a better insight of our product. Year 4 As time goes by and we continue advertising our product in both markets and events, we will launch our very own bakery throughout certain areas as sort of a test to see if we can maintain this level of output in our product and packaging. These bakeries will not only produce mooncakes but other traditional pastries as well. The overarching goal is to be able to sustain ourselves with our own bakeries and be well known for our mooncakes and creative packaging but also to solve the problems that most mooncakes have.
From there once being able to create that partnership we will conduct our marketing research from the amount of sales within the super market, the amount of people passing by who are interesting, to the people who end up buying it due to the pricing and convenience. And this research will be conducted by the ones who are making the product by counting the remaining stock. This allows a more accurate amount of sales by the people who make them. For example, if our bakers are said to produce a certain amount they can go by that amount and by the end of the day count the remaining that are left to determine the sales. With this research we will be able to conduct how successful we are throughout seasonal times. Then we will be able to branch out and increase the amount of product advertisement throughout the season and continue to market towards our main audience before opening up to other audiences to ensure a buyer base before branching out. From there between success events to opening up our official bakery we will continue the said research again on our other products and our store to see how well we will be able to maintain in the cities.
Summary From our research, we at Yue Cake believe we can meet the standards of our competitors. We see our brand as elegant and effective to reach the other demographic that our competitors don’t tend to reach. Since we are marketing towards the new generation with intentions of keeping a traditional background we complement both ranges or age groups in the Asian audience. Our packaging allows us to reduce the amount of waste that comes with tossing out mooncakes by providing individuals to miniature mooncakes proportions and also aims to be more sustainable with the material we use. We believe we will be able to successfully meet our goals while satisfying the general audience of our product.
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Yue Cake Food Co. 2242 Folsom Street San Francisco, CA, 94101
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Aaron Ngai | DES116 | Process Manual