Icebreaker Cafe
Problem
For the fall semester of 2023, I took a semester-long design class that specialized in design thinking. We were tasked to create a brand that can solve people’s modern issues. We were not allowed to have a presumable idea in mind, but gather information through surveys to evaluate and consider the major issues based on people’s feedback. Based on my analysis, a lot of individuals who are dissatisfied with their jobs and would like to make a positive in their career life.
Solution
After using several design brainstorming techniques, I came up with a brand called “Icebreaker Cafe”. It is a start-up business that is catered towards individuals who want to elevate their professional life by creating new connections for different hosted events. I used simple “doodle-like” designs to cater towards individuals in their 20s since that was my target audience in the surveys.
Roles & Duration
Timeline: 3 Weeks
Role: Art Direction, Branding, Packaging, Advertising
Team: Solo Project
Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Google Docs
Process: Research, Ideation, Design, Reflection
Research
Survey & Data Analysis
I conducted a survey of twelve generic questions for college students and my friends. I used Google Forms to submit these questions and got a total of eleven responses within nine hours. I thoroughly read through the responses for each of the question and noticed vastly different answers. However, I noticed a few similar responses within my research.
One of the questions I asked was, “Describe any negative experiences you have encountered lately.” I got a total of 10 responses from that question. A few responses were very detailed and was long as a paragraph. Others were short but straightforward. Many responses were in relation to their work life and it had some negative connotations to it. Work-related stress was one of the most common topics I found in the responses.
Based on the responses, I noticed that a work environment is a very important aspect that can make or break someone. I want to look more into products/services that cater to hardworking individuals and finding some form of stress-relief for their work lives. Also, I can think about ways in which companies could help their workers feel more relaxed in their work environment.
Ideation
Mind Mapping, Visual Dump, Brief Concepts, Mood board
I began to brainstorm several ideas that can solve work-related issues based on my research in the first step. I started mapping out different words that relate to the topic of work stress. I also drew some quick sketches for five minutes afterwards. From there, I came up with ten different ideas that can ease the tension of people’s stress such as essential oils, stress balls, clothing, etc.
After getting feedback, I stuck with the concept of a cafe where job seekers can network with different people in their desired industry to be one step closer towards their dreams. My mood board contains different images that have a simple “doodle” design that is minimal and playful. I went with these designs to add a fun personality to the cafe while using simple colors to keep it professional.
Design
Application
For the design, I made several different assets for the cafe such as a logo, business cards, coffee packaging, and flyers. I used brown hues to represent coffee beans. Also, I added a splash of blue to contrast the brown hues to symbolize professionalism.
Reflection
Final Thoughts
After many minor revisions, I was able to solve the issue of work stress by creating the idea of a networking cafe for job seekers and recruiters. The design promotes a cozy atmosphere of a cafe but instills a certain amount of professionalism for individuals who are looking to climb up their career paths.