BROOKSTONE 2012
discover tea by brookstone™ a process book by LIVEFASTDESIGNYOUNG
Introduction
TABLE of CONTENTS
Research
Brand
Packaging
Merchandising
Conclusion
If brookstone™ sells coffee... ...then it should sell tea
It’s true, brookstone sells coffee. When asked to give brookstone a much needed face-lift and new design strategy for a Package Design Course, I first researched
friend’s parents - unused and pristine
their website. I scrolled through their
Tea became the new avenue for my
vast inventory of rare items I had only
Brookstone makeover.
seen in the closets of my affluent
INTRODUCTION
in their boxes. Then sitting awkwardly in the kitchen section of the site was an unassuming bag of coffee. Real coffee. This was the answer then: if brookstone sells coffee, then it should sell tea.
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MISSION STATEMENT My goal is to position Brookstone as a multi-dimensional retailer that stimulates the consumers curiosity and provides them the tools to learn and discover ways to enhance their lifestyle through Brookstone products. The new avenue for Brookstone to explore and expand upon their current inventory is tea and tea related products. Here is a brief look at “Fairest of the Seasons”, my proposed collection for Brookstone’s line of tea products: Whether you’re walking down the street crunching on autumn leaves, or shedding your favorite coat in the summer heat, the best way to enjoy the weather is sipping on a delicious cup of tea, now offered by brookstone. Fairest of the Seasons is a new collection of brookstone tea products for tea lovers and for those looking to discover something new to drink. My strategy for Brookstone’s new endeavor is to facilitate learning for the “curious consumer” through an immersing hands-on experience and an exciting visual language.
RESEARCH
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A BRIEF HISTORY In 1965, Pierre de Beaumont and his wife started Brookstone through a classified ad selling “hard-to-find tools” in Popular Mechanics Magazine. The catalogue saw an increase in circulation with a strong consumer base demanding innovative products. In 1973, Brookstone opened its first retail doors in Petersbourough, New Hampshire. During the 1980’s, Brookstone went beyond their catalogue base items and included innovative products relating to games, leisure, travel, and audio. This endeavor, along with openings of new stores throughout the New England area, strengthened their loyal consumer base and caught the attention of a new audience. Soon Brookstone was profiting from retail sales as much as, if not more than their catalogue sales. Unfortunately, the large-scale expansion brought on a financial challenge that caused Brookstone to face a multi-million dollar debt in 1987. Brookstone was able to turn around their negative earnings in the 1990’s when the company went through a remodeling that targeted a female demographic.
Brookstone was able to gain a new audience, save a substantial amount of money and earn positive income. Brookstone began experimenting with a new sales avenue to enhance their holiday sales - kiosks. These free-standing booths featured a limited selection of Brookstone products in malls that already housed a Brookstone retail store. Today, kiosks and catalogue sales make up nearly 15% of Brookstone’s revenue (the remaining 85% Today, brookstone is generated from operates more retail stores). than 305 retail Today, Brookstone stores throughout operates more than the United States 305 retail stores throughout the and Puerto Rico United States and Puerto Rico. They can be found in shopping malls and airports. The sales from these retail outlets derive 85% while the remaining are attributed to kiosks. Brookstone stayed true to their roots and offers a detailed catalogue both in print and Brookstone’s success could be attributed to their authentic approach of offering unique tools and household goods through an interactive shopping experience.
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TARGET AUDIENCE CONSUMER ANALYSIS
CLASS
The typical Brookstone consumer is your average, upper middle class family member looking to buy a gift for someone. Because Brookstone is known for selling fairly expensive specialty products, it is likely that the average Brookstone consumer has a relatively high disposable income.
Upper-middle class with high disposable income
What sets a Brookstone core consumer apart from other retail consumers is their curiosity for innovative products and their willingness to learn about them. The Brookstone consumer values innovation, comfort, and new experiences. They are unafraid to learn and try new products to enhance their lifestyle. The consumer’s curiosity, coupled with the consumer’s freetime, allows Brookstone to be a source of discovery, rather than a typical retailer.
Kids buying gifts for parents
Travelers Geek dads Stay at home moms
INTERESTS Probably collects Faberjé eggs and only displays them during Easter and Christmas because that’s the only time they observe their religion anyway Probably watches poorly written shows that inexplicably pass for comedy such as “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory”...seriously, that show is unwatchable.
RESEARCH
Rachel Ray
Groupon
Food Network
CNN
Home Depot
Apple
Target
Their kids
NPR News
Pot Lucks
Frames
Company parties
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TARGET COMPETITION BROOKSTONE COMPETITION Brookstone began as a specialty retailer store selling unusual products. Because of this, Brookstone’s biggest competitors were and are The Sharper Image, Hammacher Schlemmer and Sky Mall, which feature hard-to-find products. Target and Best Buy also make the Brookstone Competitor page because they reap consumers who are looking to buy gifts.
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Loose leaf Republic of Tea display at local coffee shop.
TEA COMPETITORS I went to several locations which sold tea to analyze the packaging and merchandising. Among them are Starbucks (which sells Tazo tea), Teavana, and Republic of Tea (sold in several independently owned coffee shops). Tea boxes are almost always stacked for maximum products. The packaging seems to be divided between design conscious, detail oriented packaging (Tazo) and busy, outdated graphics and themes (Bigelow). Yellow is a common color and Asian and Eastern themes tend to dominate the aesthetic direction.
RESEARCH
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Top Left to Bottom Right •Tazo boxes on a shelf at Gelsons Marketplace •TASH herbal tea packaging •Republic of Tea tin on a counter at a coffee shop •Tea section at Gelsons •Tea tin •Bigelow tea boxes Analysis Tea boxes stacked for maximum products. Tea packaging divided between design conscious, detail oriented packaging (Tazo) and busy, outdated graphics and themes (Bigelow). Yellow seems to be a common color. Asian and Eastern influenced themes also common.
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
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BRAND DEVELOPMENT
Sketches, photos, mock-ups and more sketches After researching the company and it’s place within the market, it’s time for the fun part - sketching. This particular assignment called for an in-depth understanding of the product’s dimensions and their relationship to each other. I began with extensive sketches of the products themselves, moving to rudimentary ideas for packaging to detailed measurements.
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BRAND DEVELOPMENT
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PACKAGING
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BRAND DEVELOPMENT
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TYPE DEVELOPMENT
ITC FRANKLIN GOTHIC DEMI & DEMI CONDENSED Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 0123456789
b
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 0123456789
The false serif on the lower case “b” was just enough of a flourishment to keep the logotype stable, yet American.
“In the early 1900s, ATF’s head of typeface development, Morris Fuller Benton, began to create the type designs that would influence American type design for more than 40 years. Around 1902, Franklin Gothic was cut...” The ATF commissioned Victor Caruso to create four additional weights for the typeface including demi.
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Early compositional sketches for the loose leaf tea labels
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
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First attempt at a “collage� for loose leaf tea labels
AESTHETIC DEVELOPMENT I knew in the beginning I wanted the brand to have some collage to represent the blending of flavours in tea. On the right is my first attempt at such a collage combining photo, vectors, and texture. Needless to say, it did not make it to round two. I also wanted the brand to have a defining seal that would bring the products together in a collection. The content of the seal and how it blends with the background would change with each pass. Finally, I wanted the type to blend stability with levity. ITC Franklin Gothic became an anchor for titles and headliners while Walbaum Italic was used for descriptions and lists.
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A second attempt at a collage. This one was based off of a photograph I took of loose leaf tea. I altered the photo’s color and added images of the tea’s signature ingredients for added visual interest.
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
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SEAL AND PATTERN Here is a three part attempt at perfecting the seal and pattern. The main problem I had with the pattern was the general darkness and high contrast. The pattern would become lighter and more colorful with each pass. Integrating the seal was also a challenge. It began only as black or cream color and would later incorporate more colors. Each band of color would represent the different seasons.
PACKAGING
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
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PACKAGING
GOAL: Beautiful packaging with a face-lifted brand Turns out translating a simple sketch into a usable, three-dimensional product is far more difficult than I imagined. I tried countless mock-ups with scraps of paper. Paperboard ended up being the material of choice for box-making. The final box for the collection was a special corrugated cardboard that I felt gave it a much needed tactile dimension.
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The labels were the corner stone of the aesthetic development. The visual decisions made here served as the DNA for the rest of the packaging.
PACKAGING
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LOOSE LEAF TEA TIN
brookstone™
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THE ROSLE INFUSER ™ brookstone
PACKAGING
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DOUBLE WALL GLASS ™ brookstone
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Final packaging solution
PACKAGING
Below Top view of the outside cardboard box Side Inside view of box with tea packaging
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FINAL BOXES While the packaging for the tea products are made out of paperboard, corrugated cardboard was the material of choice for the outside package. The medium brown color and corrugated texture served as a much needed tactility and lightness to
the overall aesthetic. A small 12 page booklet on the outside introduces Fairest of the Seasons and gives a detailed look at the tea products. Finally, a bit of raffia secures the booklet to the box to give the final product a “gift� like quality.
MERCHANDISING
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MERCHANDISING
Presentation of product in the consumer environment Pop-up shops are a part of a growing trend for discovering and experiencing brands in an exciting way. I feel this is the perfect way for Brookstone to introduce their consumers to their new collection and gain the attention of a new audience.
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VISUAL MERCHANDISING
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Far Left Concept sketches for popup shop with tea retailer 3D concepts of mobile cart for pop-up shop. Needless to say, this idea just wasn’t grand enough. Left Development of Maya renderings
DEVELOPMENT OF POP-UP SHOP The best way for me to actualize my vision for the pop-up shop was to use the 3D program Autodesk Maya. Here is a look at two developmental stages. The top photo shows the modeling stage where the concept takes a basic form with simple, grey shapes. Below the shapes are imbued with color, texture, and most importantly – light.
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VISUAL MERCHANDISING
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Left Maya rendering of final concept for pop-up shop interior
EPHEMERA No matter what the event is, it’s all about the details. Here is a look at a cup design for hot tea beverages served at a potential pop-up shop.
Because the line of tea products is seasonal, my strategy for these pop-up shops will be a four-part execution with four different locations. Each pop-up shop will serve tea from the Fairest of the Seasons collection and offer premium tea products to enhance their experience at home. Here is a detailed look at the inside of the popup shop. The centerpiece is a large sculpture of a “tea tree”. Rather than leaves, the branches hold up colored tea bags related to the different blends of tea. The pink walled corner features information on the collection and offers free samples of the tea encouraging consumers to engage in the experience of tea.
Other printable ephemera would be printed on cardboard to keep a consistent identity.
BROOKSTONE 2012