Obscura Process Book

BRANDING + DESIGN
DO DEAD
DOLLS
DREAM OF
PROBIOTICS?
AKANSHA KUKREJA | MFAD 2019

CONTEN
PART 1
BRANDING
01
PROCESS
Picking The Brand
Store Visits
Competitors
Target Audience
The Story
Inspiration & Thoughts
Initial Sketches
Digital Iterations
02
OUTCOME
Obscura, Revised
Identity System
Visual Assets
Applications

TS
PART 2
PACKAGING
03
PROCESS
A Hot, Saucy Conflict
Kombucha, Please
The Brand + Product
Current Label Analysis
Line-Up & Competition
Target Audience
Understanding The Philosophy
The Story
Visual Inspiration
Initial Sketches
Digital Iterations
04
OUTCOME
GT’s Logomark, Revised
New Label Design
Visual Assets
Product Photography
Communication Style
Packaging Guidelines

“
PART 1
Brands exi
minds of t
who intera

st in the
he people
ct with them.
- BRIAN COLLINS
BRANDING
“

INCLUDES
PICKING THE BRAND
STORE VISITS
COMPETITORS
TARGET AUDIENCE
THE STORY
INSPIRATION & THOUGHTS
INITIAL SKETCHES
DIGITAL ITERATIONS

PART 1
BRANDING
01 | PROCESS

PART 1 | BRANDING
PICKING THE BRAND
CURRENT IDENTITY
Obscura is a store that houses antiques
and obscure keepsakes that are
indescribably odd (a.k.a oddities).
The store’s employees search flea
markets, personal collections, auctions,
and antique shows for unique and
unusual artifacts. When I walked
into the store as a happen-stance of
exploring East Village, I wanted to
spend more than a normal amount of
time there. The cabinets and drawers
and nooks of the store have more to
offer than the store-front proposes.
WHY?
WEIRD OBJECTS FROM THE 1800s
DISCOVERY BECOMES COLLECTION
STUFFED SQUIRRELS ON A FERRIS WHEEL
UNDISCOVERED EAST-VILLAGE GEM
CURATED ODDITIES
STORE VISITS
I happened to chance upon their store in East Village, by Avenue A. The
intentional messy curation of non-traditional antiques really pulled me in.
This isn’t a run-of-the-mill antique store that everyone feels comfortable in.

OBSCURA

PART 1 | BRANDING

OBSCURA

PART 1 | BRANDING

OBSCURA

PART 1 | BRANDING

OBSCURA
COMPETITORS
EVOLUTION, OLDE GOOD THINGS, ECLICTIC COLLECTIBLES, THE HUNT
In New York, a lot of the antique stores
offer their own special twist. Some
offer really great Historic Artefacts,
Jewellery, Antique Furniture and Decor.
None of these directly compete with
Obscura on the following factors:
INTENTIONAL MESSY CURATION.
TIMELY REARRANGEMENTS.
DISCOVER = NOVELTY.
OPEN 7 DAYS.
FLEA MARKET PRESENCE.
OFFER EXPERT ADVICE & CURATION.

PART 1 | BRANDING
CUSTOMERS
COLLECTORS
DECORATORS
SET DESIGNERS
PROP COLLECTORS

OBSCURA
“
It’s part museum, part
attraction. Some people want
to come in and look but not
touch or take anything.
Like a car accident.
“
MIKE ZOHN, STORE OWNER

CURIOS
PART 1 | BRANDING
THE ST
Incite d
into
CABI

ORY
OBSCURA
isovery
the
N OF
ITIES.A conversation with the owner
allowed me to identify that when
people come into obscura, they
want to dig through the objects
to find their own kind of oddity. It
always makes a good story when
you can take credit for that weird
thing that’s staring at the guests
that walk into your home.

PART 1 | BRANDING
INSPIRTATION AND THOUGHTS
MOODBOARD 1 | THE SOUL DOES NOT EXIST
KEYWORDS
DEAD INSIDE
TAXIDERMY
THINGS THAT ONCE LIVED
THE EXPRESSIONS OF RELICS
LIVING IN FEAR
WAITING FOR NOTHING
DEATH ON A SHELF

OBSCURA
MOODBOARD 2 | DETAILS WITHIN MATTER
KEYWORDS
INNER STRUCTURE
TINY DISCOVERIES
DIAGRAMS
THE INSIDES OF THINGS
STRUCTURE
MOLECULES
DETAIL BECOMES DISCOVERY

PART 1 | BRANDING
MOODBOARD 3 | LOOKING FOR IMPERFECTION
KEYWORDS
MISFITS
SKEWED
GRITTY
IMPERFECT EDGES
TYPOGRAPHIC
TEXTURAL
AWKWARD

OBSCURA
REACTIONS AND REFLECTIONS
After my intial moodboards, I started
to open up a bit more in terms of how
I could step out of the run-of-themill
antique store realm. This idea of
discovering things to combine with
others you find at Obscura led to this
idea of duality. Combining weird things
together - that was at the essence of an
Obscura takeaway.
The previous moodboards (1 and 2)
seemed too safe to carry forward. This
idea of the undead object combined
with something it would never relate
to started to sit with me as I collected
images from old books / British Library
Flickr archives over the internet.
At this point, I also started to consider
the various types of logos I could
explore for Obscura.

PART 1 | BRANDING
INITIAL SKETCHES

OBSCURA

PART 1 | BRANDING
DIGITAL ITERATIONS
ROUND 1
REACTIONS AND REFLECTIONS
With mixed reactions, I was a bit
unsure about this route - another
peer of mine was designing for
Obscura’s competitor ‘Evolution.’
This was too close to art-history and
the aesthetics of an apothecary.

LABEL SYSTEM
OBSCURA

PART 1 | BRANDING
DIGITAL ITERATIONS
ROUND 2
REACTIONS AND REFLECTIONS
The idea of duality in terms of the
visual collage was well received
but the logomark was still too
generic. I started toying with this
idea of a dual label-system.

LABEL SYSTEM
OBSCURA

PART 1 | BRANDING
DIGITAL ITERATIONS
ROUND 3
REACTIONS AND REFLECTIONS
“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste
natus error sit voluptatem accusantium
doloremque laudantium, totam rem
aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo
inventore veritatis et quasi architecto
beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo.
Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia
voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut
fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni
dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem
sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam

OBSCURA

INCLUDES
OBSCURA, REVISED
IDENTITY SYSTEM
VISUAL ASSETS
APPLICATIONS

PART 1
BRANDING
02 | OUTCOME

PART 1 | BRANDING

OBSCURA

PART 1 | BRANDING

OBSCURA

PART 1 | BRANDING
REVISED IDENTITY

OBSCURA

PART 1 | BRANDING
IDENTITY SYSTEM
WITHOUT TAGLINE
WITH TAGLINE
The ‘+’ mark remains
attached to the
typeface as part
of the logomark
and is consistent
throughout the
identity system.

OBSCURA
TYPOGRAPHY
COLOURS
This gives an idea of the umbrella coloe
palette that the brand communication
should be basked under.

PART 1 | BRANDING

OBSCURA
The constant
change of display
allows for a
constant change of
labels and naming.
The more obscure
the combination,
the better!

PART 1 | BRANDING
APPLICATIONS
STORE SIGNAGE
LEVEL 1
LEVEL 2
On further expansion into signage, I will
need to identify from the owner and
curators of the stores what the different
levels of signage are.

POSTCARDS & COMMUNICATION
OBSCURA

PART 1 | BRANDING
APPLICATION ON STATIONERY

Due to the complexity of the items bought in the store, the takeaway
apparatus offers a simple aesthetic using only the identity
OBSCURA

PART 1 | BRANDING
WEBSITE DESIGN

OBSCURA

PART 1 | BRANDING
COMPA

RISON
OBSCURA

PART 2
“
In the absenc
any other ma
packaging i
communic
brand

e of
rketing,
s the sole
ator of the
essence.
- PHILIP MORRIS
“
PACKAGING

INCLUDES
A HOT, SAUCY CONFLICT
KOMBUCHA, PLEASE
THE BRAND + PRODUCT
CURRENT LABEL ANALYSIS
LINE-UP & COMPETITION
TARGET AUDIENCE
UNDERSTANDING THE PHILOSOPHY
THE STORY
VISUAL INSPIRATION
INITIAL SKETCHES
DIGITAL ITERATIONS

PART 2
PACKAGING
03 | PROCESS

PART 2 | PACKAGING
A HOT, SAUCY CONFLICT
To start off the packaging assignment,
I picked hot sauce as it seemed like
an interesting challenge. Tapatio Hot
Sauce was my brand of choice. After a
few weeks of research and iterations,
I realised I was too far away from the
culture and any interaction with the
sauce or the state it comes from. All my
knowledge of the culture was coming
from the internet. My ideas didn’t seem
to do justice to the sauce that came
with a strong cultural history.
STRUCTUAL EXPLORATIONS

GT’S KOMBUCHA
LABEL DESIGN ITERATIONS
REACTIONS AND REFLECTIONS
The labels weren’t well-received and both labels seemed too generic to be
attached to this particular brand of hot sauce. It could go onto any hot sauce or
food & beverage product made of chillies and tomatoes.

PART 2 | PACKAGING
KOMBUCHA, PLEASE.
After rethinking Tapatio, I was a little
lost in terms of how to go about
picking what to package next. It’s
hard because when you look at good
packages, it’s a bit intimidating to
package them. My teething problems
with Tapatio were that I didn’t feel like I
was connected to the brand.
I was (and still am) in designing
graphics for aeronautic applications and
considered food packaging for NASA.
However, there would be no way to
identify pain-points in this scenario.
After a bunch of explorations, I decided
to repackage a product I actually
used, liked and believed in. I picked
my favorite brand of Kombucha - not
just because it’s healthy, but also it
tastes delicious. My classmate Michael
brought me his homemade kombucha
to taste - that really pushed me to pick
kombucha as my choice of product to
design for!

GT’S KOMBUCHA
THE BRAND + PRODUCT
So, in 1995, at the age of 15, GT
Dave began bottling his Kombucha in
the kitchen of his parents’ Southern
California home.
Over 22 years later, GT’s Kombucha
has stayed true to the sacred brewing
process of this ancient elixir.
Using heirloom cultures from that
Himalayan Mother SCOBY, they
handcraft our Kombucha in the same
size small batches that GT brewed back
in his family kitchen.
PRODUCT STRUCTURE
To this day, our founder is still very
hands-on, continuing to sample every
single batch before it’s bottled.
100% RAW,
ORGANIC, AND
RICH WITH LIVING
PROBIOTICS
SPIRITUAL
HEALING
NATURAL
ELIXIR

PART 2 | PACKAGING
CURRENT LABEL ANALYSIS
INDIAN MOTIFS
The spiritual nature of the
brand is depicted using
generic “Indian” motifs
along with silver foiling
and handcrafted fonts. This
problem arises within the
logo as well.
TOO MUCH
INFORMATION
Altough the product embodies
healthy elements, the bottle
displays too much information
that takes a new drinker too
long to absorb.
OVER THE TOP
The front and back of the
bottle uses words such
as “Enlightened, Repair,
Rebirth, Rediscover.” to a
point where they almost
seem exaggerated.

GT’S KOMBUCHA
LINE-UP + COMPETITION
With Kombucha becoming easier to
brew at home and the trend spreading
world-wide, GT’s Kombucha competes
with a range of best-selling brands with
varying levels of sugar and varieties of
flavor. The quality of GT’s Kombucha is
still amongst the top selling but often,
it’s overseen by new drinkers due
to over-crowding. The quality of the
product surpases the appearance.

PART 2 | PACKAGING
TARGET AUDIENCE
HEALTH-CONSCIOUS
YOGA-GENERATION
COLD-BREWED-TEA-DRINKERS
ATHLETES
WORKING PROFESSIONALS
PEOPLE LOOKING TO LOSE WEIGHT

GT’S KOMBUCHA
“
It is our purpose to bring
Beautiful Living Things
together, helping people live
happier, healthier lives.
“
GT DAVE, FOUNDER

PART 2 | PACKAGING
UNDERSTANDING
THE PHILOSOPHY

GT’S KOMBUCHA

SCIEN
SPIRITU
PART 2 | PACKAGING
THE ST
Living
combine

ORY
GT’S KOMBUCHA
things
through
CE &
ALITY.Upon reading between the lines of
the company philosophy, two main
factors tstand out; Their scientific
knowlege and practiice and their
belief in aligning our mind body
and soul to discover healthier and
happier lifestyles.

PART 2 | PACKAGING
VISUAL INSPIRATION

I started to look at the molecular structures of living probiotics
and comparing centering oneself with the universe and cosmos.
GT’S KOMBUCHA

PART 2 | PACKAGING
INITIAL SKETCHES

GT’S KOMBUCHA

PART 2 | PACKAGING
DIGITAL ITERATIONS
I PICKED THE ENLIGHTENED
KOMBUCHA RANGE TO REDESIGN

GT’S KOMBUCHA
REACTIONS AND REFLECTIONS
A set of mixed reactions was received on the extremely geometric typeface. It still seemed to lack a
connection to the brand. Most people / friends who had tried the product seemed to connect a little
more to the visuals of the cosmos. The pastel colours were received as organic and fresh.

INCLUDES
GT’S BRAND REFRESH
REVISED LABEL DESIGN
VISUAL ASSETS
PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY
COMMUNICATION STYLE

PART 2
PACKAGING
02 | OUTCOME

PART 2 | PACKAGING
GT’S BRAND REFRESH
CURRENT LOGO
Outdated-gradients, Irrelevant Motifs, Bulky
CURRENT VISUAL LANGUAGE
Repeated Mandala patterns. No synergy in the colours and patterns used.

GT’S KOMBUCHA
PROPOSED NEW LOGO
Clean, fresh, light aesthetic with simpler fonts.
PROPOSED VISUAL LANGUAGE
Fresher Colors, Refreshed visuals that speak of science and spirituality.
The essence of the patterns and motifs is retained.

REVISED LABEL

PROPOSED INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
With a subtle resemblance to the previous packaging, this revised labels aims at
establishing a fresher, more modern connection with the drinker. Most Kombucha
drinkers are loyal to their flavours - the colour coding aims to assist that. GT’s
brand has trademarked names for their drinks that sometimes don’t explicitly
state all the flavours. Below the main circle, the flavour is broken down so as to
communicate to the drinker what he / she’s buying.
FRONT
BACK

FLAVORS

VISUAL ASSETS

VECTOR ILLUSTRATIONS IN PLAYFUL COLOURS
USES: COMMUNICATION + PHOTO ACCENTS

PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE

CLEAN
SIMPLE
ILLUSTRATION INTERACTS
WITH THE INGREDIENTS

Th
EN

e
D

A PROCESS BOOK