Studio: Brand Research (Artease)

(Source)

Ivan Wang, Ang Chin Leng and Leslie Ang founded Artease in 2011. The idea of Artease is to have a bubble tea store that is uniquely Singapore. They collaborate and work with creative people, as their target audience revolves around young and trendy youths, as well as working adults. To them, the business is not only about selling bubble tea, but also about the food, culture and lifestyle.

Their stores are located at:

Tanjong Pagar

1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #01-35T

Opening hours: 10am-10pm everyday

Orchard Cineleisure

Opening hours:

Sunday to Thursday: 11am-11pm

Friday & Saturday: 11am-2am 

Advertising problems:

Although they have a large fan base, the brand is still not yet well advertised. There is a need for a push in promoting the brand, so that it can increase their daily sales without moving away from their brand image (uniquely Singapore). There is also a need to seek a way to reach out to target audience in the midst of ads clutter, in order not to lose out to the other exported brands.

Possible Competitors:

(1) Gong Cha

(Source)

Gong Cha is a brand that aims to provide best quality tea and beverages to their customers. Their goal is to give customers satisfaction by offering refreshing beverages and great customer service.

Their concept will be a premium tea fit for Royals; "so Tasteful, You'll Want More".

Gongcha has around 50 outlets in Singapore so far.

-------------------------------

(2) KOI

(Source)

KOI offers bubble teas and other refreshing beverages as well. There are currently 8 stores of KOI cafe, with an extremely long queue during 12pm-4pm daily.

Source:

(1) http://www.artease.sg

(2) (For the artease picture) http://danielfooddiary.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/artease71.jpg

(3) http://www.facebook.com/ArteaseCafe

(4) http://www.gong-cha.com

(5) http://www.facebook.com/GongCha.Singapore

(6) (For the Gong Cha picture + review) http://www.ladyironchef.com/2010/08/gong-cha-bubble-tea-singapore/
(7) (For KOI picture + review) http://www.ladyironchef.com/2010/06/koi-cafe-singapore-bubble-tea/
(8) http://www.koicafe.com.tw
(9) http://alvinology.com/2010/10/22/koi-cafe-50嵐-vs-gong-cha-贡茶-singapore/

Studio: Brand Research (X-Mini)

Here is the online research I did for my Design Issue 2 brands:

X-MINI

Background research:

X- Mini is a company founded in Singapore with the intention of bringing the latest wave of multimedia products to the global market. Its main objective is to create multimedia devices that will lead as major trends in lifestyle technology. X-Mini pushes the boundaries of technologies in order to become a global brand synonymous with future innovations.

X-Mini products consist of: X-Mini II Capsule Speaker, X-Mini v1.1 Capsule Speaker, X-Mini MAX II Capsule Speaker, X-Mini MAX v1.1 Capsule Speaker, X-Mini Happy Capsule Speaker, X-Mini RAVE Capsule Speaker, X-Mini Hello Kitty Capsule Speaker, and X-Mini KAI Capsule Speaker.

Advertising problems:

(1) People tend to trust exported brands more than local brand (X-Mini is a local brand).
(2) Not many people know about X-Mini, as there is no solid ads or campaigns existing so far yet.

Possible competitors:

(1) Audio-Technica

(Source)

Audio-Technica was established in 1962. It is a company that deals with anything related to design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of problem-solving audio equipment. It is famous for its phonograph cartridges, and nowadays it creates high-performance microphones, headphones, wireless systems, mixers and other home and professional electronic products. 

Audio-Technica has worn many awards, and their products were also selected for major broadcast music events such as "the GRAMMY Awards and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies and sport events like World Cup Soccer, the Super Bowl, the Commonwealth Games, Summer Games in Athens (2004), Sydney(2000), Atlanta (1996) and Winter Games in Torino (2006) and Salt Lake City (2002)". 

The brand is well spread through out the world, its operating companies are also available in Europe, Singapore and Hongkong.  The timeline of the company can be found in their official website.

--------------------------------------------------

(2) Creative


(Source)

Creative was founded in Singapore 1981, and it started with a vision that believes that multimedia would revolutionize the way people interact with their PCs. It is famous because of its Sound Blaster sound cards. Right now Creative are working on marketing cutting-edge audio solutions, premium wireless speakers, high performance earphone products and portable media devices. Its global corporate headquarters is located in Singapore, and regional headquarters at US (Milpitas, California), Europe (Dublin, Ireland) and Asia (Singapore). 

Since the success of Sound Blaster sound cards and setting the de-facto standard for PC audio in 1989, Creative has been the leading brand expanding in exciting lifestyle PDE market, especially in audio technology with a user base of 400 million. 

Creative was awarded the Consumer Electronics Show "Best of CES" for four consecutive years from 2003-2006, for a variety of their products. They also won the prestigious German-based reddot awards for outstanding and innovative product industrial designs. With the launch of Xtreme Fidelity (X-Fi) audio platform, they gained the "Best of What's New in Home Entertainment" award by Popular Science in 2006 for bringing outstanding audio quality for MP3 music. 

Creative's mission is "to expand its leadership role in the lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment market, using groundbreaking technology and leading-edge designs for not just the technically-savvy consumers, but for everyone who enjoys entertainment." It is listed on the main board of Singapore Exchange (SGX) since June 1994.

The company's timeline is available in their official website.

Sources:

(1) http://www.x-mini.com

(2) http://www.audio-technica.com.sg

(3) http://sg.creative.com

Studio: Brand Research (Ritter Sport)

(Source)

Ritter Sport started as a small family confectionary in 1912, by Alfred Ritter and his wife Clara. It is now sold in 80 countries and is now passed down through the Ritter family. Alfred Theodor Ritter, the grandchild of the founder, now leads it and the company has 800 employees in Waldenbuch. 

Ritter Sport is the “chocolate with a difference”. The company aims to make and keep their products a deal; attractive to both consumers and market. They stressed in the duty of acting in an environmentally responsible manner.

Timeline:

In 1998, for the first time in its history, RITTER SPORT exceeds the half-billion mark with a turnover of 507m DM. The 100g chocolate bars hold a 22% market share in the food trade.

In 2001, the “RITTER SPORT Chocolate Shop” Visitors’ Center opens. It vividly and interactively showcases the production of chocolate as well as RITTER SPORT’S history.

In 2002, RITTER SPORT opens their very own power plant. The RITTER SPORT combined heating-and-power station comes to life, allowing the company to produce approx. 30% of its own electricity and approx. 70% of its own heating needs. It is especially environmentally–friendly: Heat is a deliberate “waste product” of electricity generation that can now be used for heating purposes. Through this system of cogeneration, RITTER SPORT saves approx. 12m kWh of primary energy per year (this corresponds to approx. 1m liters of heating oil) and reduces its CO2 emissions by approx. 6,800 tons in the same period. 

Advertising problem: 

(1) There has not been a solid advertisements or campaign done (in Singapore) by the company to reach out to the target audience. 

(2) There are a lot of other brands which are more known in Singapore; but due to ads clutter, Ritter Sport has to find another method in order to get their message across without being lost in the sea of ads.

Possible competitors: 

(1) Toblerone

(Source)

Toblerone is a Swiss chocolate, made from cocoa beans from different parts of the world, Californian almonds and Mexican honey. 'Toblerone' originates from the chocolatier's family name 'Tobler' combined with 'torrone' which means nougat in Italian. The shape of Toblerone is triangular, like the mountainous homeland of Theodor Tobler. 

Toblerone is under Kraft foods and it was founded in 1908.

(2) Hersheys

(Source)

Hersheys is the largest producer of quality chocolate in North America that has been established since over 100 years ago. HERSHEY’S brands include Hershey’s, Hershey’s Kisses, Reese’s, Kit Kat, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, and Hershey’s Bliss chocolates.

Hershey's is a leader in the dark and premium chocolate segment (Hershey's Special Dark and Hershey's Extra Dark)

They particularly displayed a video of how chocolate is made in their page. It helps allure consumers as it is pretty mouthwatering. Video: http://www.hersheys.com/ads-and-videos/how-we-make-chocolate.aspx

Available commercials: http://www.hersheys.com/ads-and-videos/commercials.aspx

Sources:

(1) http://www.facebook.com/RitterSportChocolate

(2) http://www.ritter-sport.us/#/en_US/home/

(3) http://www.thecocoatrees.com/products.php?brand=Ritter+Sport

(4) http://www.museum-ritter.de/sprache2/n437378/n.html

(5) http://www.youtube.com/RitterSportChocolate
(6) http://www.toblerone.com
(7) http://www.facebook.com/Toblerone
(8) http://www.hersheys.com
(9) http://www.facebook.com/HERSHEYS
(10) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hersheys-Singapore/147222661970666
(11) For Toblerone pic: http://www.unotrade.nl/image/logos/logo_4fce0130ed9b9.jpg
(12) For Hersheys pic: http://www.candybarlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/hersheyscc_wr4.jpg

Studio: Brand Research (TOM N TOMS Coffee)

Tom N Toms takes the lead in creativity in an ever-evolving coffee culture, currently running 160 stores in Korea and about 20 stores in other countries. (7 in Los Angeles, 3 in Australia, 10 in Thailand and 1 in Singapore). It aims to open 600 stores all over the world by 2012.  Tom N Toms is well known for its freshly baked pretzels and thick toast. 

Tom N Toms menu revolves around Espresso coffee, gourmet teas, various lattes, iced beverages, tomncinno (ice-blended), yoghurt smoothies, thick toast, tortilla, pretzels, sandwiches, cakes, and muffins.

As of 2012, Australia had opened 2 new branches, and 5-7 branches in Thailand. 

Tom N Toms is also mentioned at various food blog such as:

(1) Nommynomnom (http://nommynomnom.wordpress.com/2010/04/09/tom-n-toms-singapore/)

(2) Hungry-go-where (http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/tom_n_toms_coffee_icon_village/)

*It is 80% recommended for chill-out place.

(3) Lovlife (http://lovelivfe.com/2011/09/12/korean-ish/).

Advertising problems: 

(1) People do not know of its existence as it is overshadowed by competitors.

(2) Even though they have attempted to market via Social Networking Platform such as Twitter and Facebook, it does not reach out to more people. 

(3) There has not been any proper marketing campaign attempted to promote this brand.

Possible Competitors:

(1) Starbucks

(Source)

Starbucks was first opened in Seattle's Pike Place Market. Its name was inspired by Moby Dick, and it offered fresh-roasted while bean coffees that are world's finest standard. It had always been a brand that creates connection to its consumers, more than just celebrating coffee and its own rich tradition.

Starbucks' mission is 'to inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time'. 

By 2012, Starbucks is well spread throughout 50 countries, having 15,000 stores in total. Starbucks started its corporation in Singapore on 14 December 1996. It was located at Liat Towers, as of today there are more than 60 stores available in Singapore.

(2) Coffee Bean

(Source)

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's heritage started its legacy in 1963, founded by Herbert B. Hyman. it has now grown into one of the largest private companies around, and today it offers 22 varieties of coffee and 20 kinds of tea. The coffee beans are roasted in manual European roast style.

As of today, there are 50 local stores in Singapore, but there are already plans for many more outlets to come.

Sources:

(1) http://www.facebook.com/TNTSINGAPORE
(2) http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/tom_n_toms_coffee_icon_village/
(3) http://twitter.com/tntsingapore
(4) http://blog.omy.sg/danielang/archives/1297
(5) http://tomntoms.com
(6) http://lovelivfe.com/2011/09/12/korean-ish/
(7) http://nommynomnom.wordpress.com/2010/04/09/tom-n-toms-singapore/
(8) For Starbucks image: http://www.graziadaily.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Starbucks-Coffee1.jpg
(9) http://www.starbucks.com.sg
(10) http://www.mystore411.com/store/listing/15/Singapore/Starbucks-store-locations
(11) http://www.facebook.com/StarbucksSingapore
(12) For Coffee Beans image: http://greenskymorning.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/ice-blended.jpg
(13) http://www.coffeebean.com.sg/coffeebean/
(14) http://www.facebook.com/coffeebean.sg

Lasalle X Curtin: Project Brief & Mind-map & Process~

Brief: To show the students from Curtin university in Australia about our surrounding. In a design manner, of course.

After receiving the brief about the collaboration project with Curtin University, my partner (Yohana from Image Comm) and I contacted our partner from there. His name is Alfred and he replied to our email almost immediately.

The three of us added each other in Facebook and use Facebook Message thread as our means of communicating. Alfo shared his progress with us (photographs posted on his Flickr), and then we updated him that we were still at brainstorming process.

This is the mind-map I did to start up with the whole idea.

These are the mind maps Yohana did.

Together with Yohana, we sat down and discuss about the possible few outcomes;

- To promote the fact that Singapore is a Fine city

- To promote the fact that Singapore has many tourist attraction

- To play off with the idea that Singapore is a Racial Harmony country

- To share about any design things in Singapore... but what?

And many more.

After much discussion, we decided to come up with something racial harmony-related; what about shopping districts? Many people do not know of other places to shop besides Orchard Road and Bugis Street. What about places like Haji Lane and Arab Street?

On 25th Aug, Yohana and I went around Arab Street and Haji Lane to take photographs, and then we took train and head down to Chinatown to take some more photographs. I uploaded the photographs I took on my Photobucket account and share it with Alfo. (Yohana's is still uploading at the moment).

(Lol at the uncle that I accidentally capture in this picture... Nice pose. XD)

While sitting down and resting in MacDonalds, both of us decided to do a simple microsite to showcase about these shopping districts as a cultural inspiration that affects the way designers in Singapore do their design.

We told Alfo about the progress and we received a good response.

Just last night Yohana emailed me about the interface design of the microsite (she is in charge of designing the layout while I do the coding and content text). Here is the screenshot of what she did:

Kudos for her hard work. :D

Now, to continue with the progress~

We are waiting for Alfo to share about his progress, which he said he would do this weekend.

The Countdown Project: What to do?

After the 7 Days challenge, the next project is about 'Countdown' without using number. So I did a mind-map and all (the picture below), but I need some ideas. What do you think? ^^;;

The 7 Days Project

I had wanted to create this post earlier but I couldn't really construct a proper post structure beforehand. This post is for the Design Workshop by Yasser, in which we were supposed to do the same things we haven't done as a routine in 7 days. and by things it can be anything.

My group consisted of Jenny, Yunxin, Shanlyn, Summer, Xiang Yun, Dora and I. The seven of us discussed together about the possibilities we could do: dancing KPOP at crowded places for 7 days, drawing with left hand for 7 days, talk with accents for 7 days... After so many inputs (some ridiculous ones and some interesting ones), we have decided to point at the sky for 7 days.

What? Point at the sky for 7 days.

Why? To create curiosity and see how people react to certain things.

Where? ANY crowded places.

When? Whenever.

How? Just walk and point at the sky naturally.

Who? US. THEM. ARGHHH.

Here is the final video.

Credits to Jenny for compiling and putting everyone's work together. :D

I have to give credits to my dance crew members, Stephanie and Ari, for helping me film on 6 different days. I was so busy that I had to film it only on the way to or from dance practices and work. And just a little confession: I filmed 2 of the videos on the same day because I was so busy with preparation for my dance school (Celine Jessandra) concert on the 18 Aug. T_T You would notice that a lot of my locations revolve around Orchard Road or Somerset, since I go to SCAPE almost everyday in a week for dance practices.

Here are some screenshots of myself... pointing at the sky.

Day 1: Outside City Hall MRT

Well to say it was awkward was an understatement. I would like to think that I tried to look as natural as possible because well... It's not everyday I point at the sky and stand still for a full-minute. There was a lot of people passing by and they stared at me funny. There was even this adult man who actually was walking past me; he stepped back just to see what I'm looking at, and then he walked away cursing at me saying I'm 'siao'. T_T;;

Day 2: Right before the traffic light outside Cineleisure

It was easier at night time because I felt more confident since it was dark. (LOL) and since it wasn't the first time (duh) I pointed at the sky anymore, it feels less... awkward. A lot of people rushed past me and they gave the exact same stare.

Day 3: Inside 313 (beside Garrett popcorn shop)

I decided to try doing it indoor just to see if I could get different kind of reaction. I didn't realize I was pointing at an HMV ad until I stood there doing the said action for about a minute or two. An old woman walked past me complaining to her grandson about how HMV was really bad for hiring someone to stand there pointing at the banner just to advertise. LOL. It was not the case, aunty, please don't hate on HMV~

Day 4: Outside Centre Point

I think out of the many days, I got out the most positive reactions here. Almost everyone that walked past actually stops properly to take a look at what I was pointing at. A Caucasian couple stood behind me for about a minute and a half to squint their eyes, trying to notice what was I pointing at. I was secretly hoping they would just walk because my hand was really tired then. Hahaha. But overall it felt great to see such reaction.

Day 5: Outside H&M

If I mentioned how day 4 was the one I got most positive reaction for, day 5 was definitely one with the  negativity. Everyone walked past me, some even bumped into me causing me to lost balance for a bit. To say they didn't care about me was an understatement: they didn't care about me pointing at the sky and they said I was blocking their way. Tsk, what mean society (HAHA).

The Day 6 and 7 videos were the ones that I shot on the same day because I didn't have time. Honestly, the venue was the same too. They are shot at Bishan Junction 8, only at different parts. I missed my chance to video on the 6th day and we had to send Jenny the videos on the 7th day so I didn't have a choice. To make it fair, I shot it at different time of the day; the first screenshot was shot in the morning before I headed to my friend's place for dance, and the second one was taken after in the late afternoon after our practice. Note that in the first picture I had a different bag; Stephanie, who helped me video for both times, was complaining it was too heavy for her to carry so I helped her to carry in the first video as an appreciation of her helping me out. Lol.

Anyway, back to the reaction of the people. Some looked curious, some were just looking at me like I had lost my mind. To be honest, I think all designers have lost their minds long time ago and that's why we are creative. (LOL SELF-PRAISE, HAHA JUST KIDDING)

Overall I think that this workshop was really fun and different. I learnt that different kind of people have different kind of reaction and openness. For instance, the Caucasian couple I mentioned was very nice, patient and open-minded, whereas the aunties in Singapore are generally concerned at how a girl like me was standing pointing. LOL.

I really had fun and a few design issues actually sparkled in my brain; like things to do about people's reactions to things, or how people connects some action and an existing ad together; how an ad can revolves ON a media but has to be supported by an action to be able to work better (the HMV thingy... Lol)... Or even about the study of target audience's mind relates with Branding... I shall just mind map it further or something while I'm still having the thoughts in my mind. 8D

Studio: Research (Design Issue & Hypothesis) - BRANDS

After much consideration, I have decided on four brands pertaining to my design issues:

Design Issue 1:

TOM N TOMS Coffee & Artease

Design Issue 2:

X-MINI & Ritter Sport

DRM & Studio: Research (Design Issue & Hypothesis)

For the first week of school, I was down with food poisoning and therefore missed the classes (for both DRM and Studio). However, I did a bit of thinking and mind-map while I was resting at home.

My writing of my 'thoughts'.

A random mind-map I drew while trying to see what I have done in the whole day, just for the sake of gambling for some inspiration.

From consultation with Joselyn and Shanon, I began to narrow down the issues I thought of before. Due to my love for KPOP, I had wanted to do something related to Korea. And then my lecturer Shanon suggested doing a topic that requires me to do Korea's advertising method as a strategy.

I considered about it and thought that perhaps I could try to see how celebrity endorsement affects Korea's market very much. I still have to do further research into the topic.

A little mind-map I did because my mind was going mad.

I thought of what to do for the other topic but couldn't come up any. While I was reading a small article the other time from here, and I realize that the problem I want to tackle of can be the ads clutter that has been existing in Singapore.

I started with drawing a mind-map of how Singapore's existing ads will be. I will do further literature review and research about the existing ads, along with visual research and survey. Meanwhile, I decided to tackle only one strategy out of the many ads strategies out there for my design issue.

As of now, nothing is confirmed yet, so I guess I should do more research and consult Shannon and/or Joselyn again the next lesson.

Mapping my mind. Literally.

I attempted doing a mind-map to help with choosing my design issue today. I decided to start from the everyday thing; listing down what usually comes to my mind or what I usually see or do. I realize... There are so many to the point that I'm not even sure if I listed them all. Anyway, here is the mind-map:

For Mac users who are looking for an app for mind-map, try MindNode Lite. It's a free app and I used it to create the mind-map above. :)

I am still unsettled about the design issue, but there are a few I have in mind. Like, how does 'copywrite' affect the effect of an ad? There are plenty of existing research proving how visuals always help people picture the idea better, but wouldn't words create the 'open-ending' feel when people read them? This is the first issue I had in mind.

And then there is another issue about how people overlook the importance of illustrations. For instance, I used the app from app store to create a mind-map rather than to draw it out. Of course I did it because I'm sitting in a cafe without a piece of paper and pen, so naturally I had to solve that problem, thus I used the digital method. But there are others who totally neglect the importance of drawing and illustrating their designs out lately. Is illustration-based ad effective? I am curious about this.

Moving on, another issue I had thought of was actually triggered when I saw a quote randomly floating on my twitter timeline: "People can forget what you said or did, but they will never forget how you make them feel". Does this mean that emotion-based ads would be more long-lasting? Feelings... Hm.

The last issue I actually considered came up when I was trying to choreograph some dance steps. I was listening to Dalmatian's Hurt Me (it's a KPOP song, nothing hurts) and all of a sudden I realized how I was singing to the song. It wasn't the first time; every single time I listen to some songs repeatedly, I automatically remembered the lyrics even though I don't have the slightest clue what the lyrics mean. I mean, I'm not korean educated as much as I wish I am. Isn't this related to subliminal ads? Since our mind automatically registers everything that we see or hear, even though we might not realize that we actually remember them since it's in our subconscious mind...

Well I guess there is only one way to finalize my design issue and that would be to do a bit of research for all and then consult my lecturers about it. *Poof*

Val's Process?

Remember about me talking about how Process is Personal and stuff like that? I decided to give a shot to create my own definition of 'process' on an empty sheet of A4 paper. Here it goes!

It was fun though. I never really thought that there was a certain pattern of things I do when I design but through doing this, thinking back I really wonder why if I actually bear a love-hate relationship with designing! LOL. I really love what I'm doing though ^^;;

The typical 'Introduction' post?

Hello everyone. Um, a brief introduction of myself. My name is Valenisha (Val), a Scorpio, and I work as a part-time barista in a Korean Cafe called Tom N Toms Coffee. I am a free-lance designer, full-time student, and a lifetime K-POP lover.

This blog is created with the intent of recording down my Creative Process Journal for my final year as a Degree student in Lasalle, majoring in Design (Advertising) Communication. Now, some of you would think, that the idea of recording the process in the blog is kind of lame, but hey, it's my process. Haha. Moving on... I know most people who read this blog would wonder why I name it 'val-defines' instead of the standard sappy 'Creative journal of Valenisha' or 'Val's Creative Journey' or whatever. Well, I kind of thought of this name while I was reading an awesome book I bought from Basheer a few days back. Let me show you the book cover.

I read through (well, not really word-by-word but hey, at least I read it through!) the whole book within a few hours. It basically contains drawings or mind-maps created by familiar names in the industry, with the intention of describing what is Process in a project for them. It was fun and interesting how some of them hardly spent more than five hours (in fact I don't think they even spent more than two) doing researches or mind-maps when given a task or brief. In the first chapter of the book, it said of how "Process is Personal" and I couldn't agree more.

And since it is personal... Here I am. I have always loved blogging and I think that this is how I relate to show my personal connection doing the process of my project. Anyway, that book is awesome to read, so you should probably get one or borrow it from the library. 'val-defines' already explains it; this is my personal journey, the record of the process defining the design issue I want, and defining what solution, thoughts, and my creative insights will be about what I'm going to do and elaborate as this blog goes on.

I should really continue doing my mind-map now. Will post more later. Zooms~!