Visual Strategy Guide
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Charles Q Duong GR 604: The Nature of Identity
Table Of Contents
Charles Quy Duong// GR 604 The Nature of Identiy 4
01. Pg 6
The History
Brand Overview Timeline
02. Pg 12
The Future
Brand Soul
Rebranding Objective
Brand Misson
Brand Keywords
Brand Grids
03. Pg 22
The Personas Within The Spectrum Outside The Spectrum
04. Pg 32
Competitors
Current Competitors
Adjacent Competitors
Future Competitors
Brand Attributes
Papyrus 5
The History
Brand Overview Timeline
Papyrus stared as a stationery and greeting cards retailer, the first store was opened in 1973 by Schurman’s Family at Berkeley, California. In 1980, the company decided to begin domestic production of Papyrus products by partnering with artists around the world to produce the finest and unique products to the consumers. Later on, Papyrus was one of the largest greeting cards companies in United States.
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0.1
About US
What do we do:
Papyrus is dedicated to the high-quality crafty products that are inspired by artists around the world. We are also consistently increasing the standard of our design and bring the consumers to the whole new world of greeting cards, physically and virtually.
Why we do it:
We not only want to keep the traditional and unique paper products. At the same time, we are evolving in design by bring the best products to market with our passion for fine craftsmanship and artistry in the digital world too.
Who we do it for:
Today, our attention to high quality and the finest details remains unparalleled as we strive to inspire our customers to express themselves beautifully and to connect with each other by celebrating the joy of everyday.
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Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy, and celebration. The hummingbird’s delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning, and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation.
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And The Legend of The Hummingbirds
1980
1950: Starting as small family business of importing unique fine paper products from Europe.
1973: Officially starting Papyrus in 1973 in Berkeley, California.
1980: The company began to make domestic production of Papyrus products.
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Timeline 1950 1973
1991: Dominique Schurman became the CEO of Schurman Fine Papers and Papyrus, with around 37 stores around the nation, profit of $10 million per year.
2005: The company operated around 146 Papyrus retail shops.
2009: Papyrus’s parent company, Schurman Retail Group, purchased all 36 American Greetings retail shops. A number of these stores were eventually rebranded as Papyrus stores.
2020: All 260 remaining Papyrus and other Schurman retail stores would be closing. Some of the stores been picked up by Paper Source by early 2020.
Papyrus 11 1991 2005 2020 2009
The Future 0.2
Brand Soul Rebranding Objective Brand Mission Brand Keywords Brand Grids
We still believe in Schurman says, “people are really hungry for something real and genuine, and what’s more genuine than a handwritten note, a personal signature on a beautiful card, or gift that you can treasure, save, and cherish?” As the Papyrus’s family, we want to keep the priceless and traditional idea, for this busy society we aren’t stopping at just a greeting card, but we will delivery card and gift to you virtually. The connection with great and potential young artists around the world by the power of the internet allows us to have a big arrange of exclusive products and designs for our customers.
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New Path
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Brand Soul:
Inspire customers to express themselves beautifully by connecting with each other in a modernized and fun way, to celebrate the joy of every day.
Brand Mission:
Use the design-forward way to make everyday connections with people simple and more meaningful.
Branding Potential:
In a world with so much connectivity, we can feel more disconnected than ever. Relationships - real connectedness - can be reduced to tapping a “like” button, an emoji, a quick text or swipe to the right. The truth is, we have all the “connections” we could ever want. We need more real connections - to people and moments that give life purpose and joy. That is why we are bringing a new way of connecting to you, not just in person, but also over your phone.
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Keywords:
Joy: We want to keep the original Papyrus Company belief, that Hope is a cherished desire with anticipation, just like writing a card to someone, to show that you have been thinking about them. We want to evaluate the traditional way to connect with people, hope doesn’t just stop at a greeting card.
Fun: Papyrus, not just spread happiness to people with greeting cards. We also offer a range of fun gifts and interaction to family and friends on any occasion.
Celebration: Being able to celebrate with your loved ones at the special moment is our biggest concern, Papyrus, we deliver your messages to your loved one physically and virtually.
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Our dedication to fine craftsmanship is evident in all we create, with an emphasis on individually curated and handmade products.
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“We strive to inspire our customers to
Brand Grids:
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New
papyrus
We are showing of the new idea of Papyrus with pop of colors, we want to open the new chapter to something fresh, fun but keeping the idea of bringing the high value of Art to all consumers in their special moments. Design-forward way to
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“We designed for human connection, by delivery physically and virtually to your dearest. Because We need more real connections to people and moments that give life purpose and joy”
Brand Grids:
papyrus
Papyrus 21
The Personas 0.3
Within The Spectrum Outside The Spectrum
Our personas are fictional representations of real audiences. It is important to have a set of potential audiences that have similar needs/ideas to the brand, we have created 8 personas for Papyrus with 6 identify to band and 2 which do not.
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The Nerdy Teacher – Bay Area, CA
Megan Harrison (34)
[A] She loves to write short stories and poems during her free time because it’s a good way of capturing her feelings.
[A] Megan thinks that all traditional hand craftmanship needs to be protected and continued to be appreciated by everyone, so it won’t lose the value of history.
[B] Megan always giving little treats in class to the little kids so that the lesson environment would be more enjoyable and encourage them to have more interaction with each other.
[B] Megan has a big concern of overusing mobile devices, because she is afraid that humanity will soon get disconnected with it.
[B] She never forget about sending her close family members and friends a birthday cards or messages because of the reminder tools on Facebook.
[C] Megan loves to explore new technologies, because she thinks they are the new way to better education.
[C] Megan still prefers reading a physical book, but she doesn’t hate Kindle as much, because they are easy to travel with.
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[A] Emotional [B] Connection [C] Interaction
The Sweet Mommy – Greenwich, CT
Shuna Garcia (42)
[A] She realized she has less time to browse around at the store nowadays, she decided to try out digital card for the first time and she loves it because it is so convenient.
[A] Shuna loves to collect all the special cards from friends and family, because the sweet messages on the cards always give a good positive energy to start the day.
[A] With a kid at home, Shuna has difficulty with storage issues because all the toys she bought for her daughter are overloaded at home.
[B] Shuna loves to spend time with the kid and would love to teach her how to make cards, because she thinks it’s important to keep the fun that you could do with your hands.
[B] Shuna visits her parents weekly because her parents have limited access to technology, so it’s very hard for them to facetime every day. Also, Shuna loves to spend time with them, to grow the connection every day.
[C] She prefers handwritten cards than digital messages such as E-card or text, because she think it shows better appreciation to the receivers.
[C] Shuna likes to do planner notes for the week along with her daughter weekly because that is a great way to teach her daughter how to write in the early stage and doing that is a great way for connection between themselves.
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[A] Emotional [B] Connection [C] Interaction
The Busy Worker – Hayward, CA
Blake Wong (26)
[A] He is walking by the local gift shop every day on the way to walk, he always stops for a few seconds to admire the window, because window always has very interesting products that he could buy them for families and friends during special occasion.
[A] Blake loves sends out special greeting cards to his loved ones during holidays or any occasional time, because he thinks written words could translate the message to the person more emotionally.
[B] Blake loves to collect handmade paper because he thinks the craftmanship might be dying in the future and there might not be any more products on the market.
[B] He goes to yoga classes every week, because he loves physical interaction with other people where he could meet and make new friends.
[C] He likes to DIY cards sometimes during the holidays but always afraid to try to make it because he doesn’t have good crafty hands.
[C] He loves to write positive messages on a piece of paper, then take a photo of it and post it on social media so that people can see the message.
[C] Blake sometimes used the hand-writing function on his phone to send friends a short message, because he thinks it’s fun and connects them better in a fun way.
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[A] Emotional [B] Connection [C] Interaction
The Client Specialist – San Francsico, CA
Gabby Smith (63)
[A] Gabby loves to buy cards that are made from nice paper and write thank you notes or birthday cards to her clients, because the clients could tell how much you appreciate their business.
[A] The company offers new virtual phone call with clients, Gabby has been using it since then, and she loves the idea so much because she could even sell products to clients directly.
[B] Gabby is in her early 60, but she is happy and open to trying new things because she thinks new technology could drive her business to be more efficient.
[B] Due to the luxury retail world, Gabby always chose the best and unique paper material that she could find, so that her clients could feel special and thoughtful. But good cards are hard to find now, so she is more open to try out digital now.
[B] Gabby thinks the relationship between her, and clients are the key to success, because that is how she personalizes taste that suits each client’s need.
[C] Working in the luxury environment, Gabby always has really high expectations for her work, because her VIP clients spend a lot every year with her, she wants the best service and products.
[C] During work events, she likes to write note or seated cards for clients because she has really handwritten that a lot of people would appreciate.
Papyrus 27
[A] Emotional [B] Connection [C] Interaction
The Floral Addicted – Portland, OR
Tracey Alvarado (59)
[A] She is a big fan of floral products, especially greeting cards and wrapping paper. Because they hold a special memory between her and her mom when they used to do gardening in springtime.
[A] Tracey loves to make dry flowers because she believes that it’s a beautiful way to store memories.
[B] She is always looking for gifts, such as books, cute products, or even special cards. However recently she discovered that many gift stores have closed, which makes it more difficult for her because she love the meaningful connection of gifting between families and friends.
[B] She believes in the value of handwritten notes that means you are letting the recipient know that they are on your mind, because they are important, and that you care about their well-being.
[C] She recently received a digital card from her grandson, she loves it so much, because she can access it anywhere, at any time. She shared that excitement with a lot of her friends.
[C] Tracey is recently taking some computer classes to learn how to do photography and photography, because she wishes to be able to make her wrapping papers.
[C] Her family introduced her to TikTok, she has been exploring the online platform and somehow wishes to start her own video recording soon, because it looks fun and it’s a good way to connect with others
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[A] Emotional [B] Connection [C] Interaction
The Curious Art Highschool Student –
Alex Weber (17)
NYC, NY
[A] Alex likes to browse around the gift shop, especially when he and his friends gather after school, because he can always find unusual stuff that could inspire his works.
[A] He wishes he could find more modern gift shops within the neighborhood area, because he finds it difficult to look for gifts nowadays.
[B] Alex loves to help with some DIY classes for an afterschool program for his art club because making lovely things with friends is the best way to reduce stress.
[B] Alex started to take digital art class not too long ago because he believes that there is a way for him to make better art by using modern techniques.
[C] He would love to see his artworks to be made into greeting cards in the future, because he thinks it’s a very special way to show his expression to the world.
[C] He prefers to look around the store, he could see and touch the physical cards, so he could see the actual size and paper texture.
[C] Alex loves to learn all about the process of making greeting cards, especially the hand printed cards that he finds in the store because it’s not just making a product, but it’s also history.
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[A] Emotional [B] Connection [C] Interaction
The Hightech Person – Houston, TX
Jeremy Bender (35)
[A] He thinks sending physical cards is a waste of money and creates more waste for the environment because the cards will end up in the trash.
[A] If he needs to send a card, Jeremy prefers digital cards because he can customize everything exactly what he likes and save time at the post office.
[B] Jeremy does not really have time to walk around for anything, so ordering gifts from amazon is the most convenient for him because there is no line, everything gets delivered to his doorstep.
[B] He does not pay enough attention to all the little things around him, especially handcrafted products. Because mass production and handmade products are the same.
[C] He doesn’t really have time to take the kid on any vacation, so his solution is to buy them a lot of cold and high-tech products.
[C] Jeremy asks his kids to only focus on useful subjects in school, art is useless because it doesn’t make enough to support their life.
[C] He believes time is money, so he prefers using his time only on work that makes profits.
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[A] Emotional [B] Connection [C] Interaction
The Careless Mom – LA, CA Lacy Ritu (37)
[A] Lacy received cards from friends, but she only takes a glance and puts them in the trash bin because they are meaningless, she prefers something more realistic.
[A] She does not like to make any memory book for the daughter, because she thinks it is a waste of time and effort, when the kid grows up, she is not going to look at it again.
[B] Lacy prefers to send someone an E-gift card rather than going out to look for a physical present, because she wants to make sure that she gets the right gift for that person.
[B] Whenever she visits her parents, she prefers giving them money, because she thinks they could buy what they need instead of what she thinks they might like.
[B] She never sends out cards to any friends or family, because she always says she has ugly handwriting.
[C] Lacy does not care how well her daughter did in art class, nor about stuff that he drew at home or school because she would prefer, the daughter does well in other subjects such as science and math.
[C] She prefers ordering premade food online, even for her kid, because she thinks they are more convenient and save more time.
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[A] Emotional [B] Connection [C] Interaction
Competitors
Current Competitors Adjacent Competitors Future Competitors Brand Attributes
Being able to understand the competitors is very important to the future papyrus, because it helps us have a better understanding of products and other services that are currently on the market, which could guide us to better rebranding results. In this section, we will talk about
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Current Competitors
Paper Source is an American stationery and gift retailer based in Chicago, Illinois, that offers papers, custom invitations and announcements, gifts, greeting cards, gift wrap, paper craft kits,
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Local gift shop owned by a Filipino family, they offer gift under $10.
Local San Francsico gift shop known for its
Retail chain specializing in greeting cards, gift
Perch offers an eclectic collection of gifts & home accents influenced by our favorite mix of modern, vintage, and international products.
Blue Mountain are a unique community of artists, writers, musicians, marketing and technology professionals, dedicated to
Kudoboard is an online replacement for the greeting card that’s passed around and signed. It’s perfect for birthdays, holidays, and other
Only Ellacard offers the ability to create directed, themed videos with a group instantly and automatically from any device without any video editing. It’s free to try, just pick a theme to get started!
Create custom and personalized photo cards at Walgreens. Select from wedding, invitations & announcements, graduation, birthday and holiday
JibJab is an American digital entertainment studio based in Los Angeles, California that turn your video/images into a GIF and allowed you to send it to anyone.
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Adjacent Competitors
Paper Collective bring together all the favorite designers, artists and illustrators. Where customers can buy and see art online.
The Crafted Prints offers a curated collection of art from independent artists around the world.
Fiverr connects entrepreneurs to experts in different areas such as graphic design and artwork to help customer get every great idea done.
OREOiD, you can customize your own OREO cookies, gifts and more.
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Michael provides of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall décor, and merchandise for makers and do-it-yourself home decorators.
Chain providing a wide range of fabrics, plus sewing & arts & crafts supplies (most offer classes).
Amzon offers the low price of different things such as craft kit, wide range of paper, clothes and many other gifts. They offer next day
Customized your own professionally-designed
A jewlery store that offer cilents a customized their on gift service on necklaces and braclets.
Shoe Zero offers customized your on shoes service, such as you could print your photo on a pair of shoes that you selected.
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Future Competitors
They offer million of images and vectors could help to turn the photos you love into award-winning photo books, meaningful cards, imaginative photo gifts, home decor and per-
Canva is an Australian graphic design platform that is used to create social media graphics and presentations. The app includes readymade templates for users to use,
The website sells gift cards for thousands of different large corporate retailers and small businesses. Customers could buy and send it digitally to family and friends directly, or you
Minted is an online marketplace of premium design goods created by independent artists and designers. Where you could cutomized
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A Gift Personalized offers a big range of gifts from budget of $10-$50 from cutting board, mugs, picture frames, pillows for both adult and kid.
TouchNote is a mobile app for smartphones, tablets and website for sending printed, personalized postcards, greeting cards, other photo products as well as gifts.
A chocolate company where you could pick selected fun packaging and customized the own chocolate flavours and send it to your fam -
Chatbooks is all about easy and affordable cus -
E-commerce company focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. These items including jewelry, bags, clothing, home décor
Uncommon Goods offers hand picks creative, original gifts and experiences that go beyond the ordinary.
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Brand Attributes
Relevant/good/positive words:
Creative
Inspiring
Joyful
Modern Exclusive
Bankrupt/stale/negative words :
Competitive
Outdated
Expansive Industrial Cliché
Neutral words (description, but not positive or negative):
Decent
Functional
Accessible
Skillful
Words your brand hopes to (or can claim to) “own”:
Youthful Dynamic Celebration
Mordern
Colorful
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Credits Page
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Papyrus 43 Artworks Contents Adobe Stock Google Images HappyFace Creative Market Pinterest Behance Orginal Sources
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Charles Quy Duong// GR 604 The Nature of Identiy