Dreaming Out Loud
BRIEF
In 2022, DOL, together with Black Farm CSA, launched a line of products for consumer and institutional markets. I led the research and development of a brand name and visual direction, followed by the development of the packaging and collateral marketing materials. This brand builds on DOL's existing brand while maintaining its own identity.
“Disrupt our food system’s ownership and cost structure by sourcing locally and bringing Black farmers to the table.”
PROCESS
Research > Discovery > Interviews > Personas > Moodboards > Concepts > Iterate > Production
CONSUMER PERSONAS & INSTITUTION PROFILES
Using the Empathy Map, the DOL team and I wrote Consumer Personas to identify hypothetical consumers. These Personas allowed the whole team to understand who we were serving and would give us a third-party tool by which to measure the success of our design.
MOODBOARDS
Using the Personas and research up to this point, I created several rounds of moodboards and received feedback from the DOL team. We began to narrow the look and feel of the packaging direction while ensuring it was aligned with the DOL brand.
CONCEPTS
After the whole team agreed upon a moodboard, concepting began in the form of label mockups. These mockups were based on previously agreed-upon packaging; in the research phase, DOL team members tested packaging options for longevity, consumer appeal, and scalability.
ITERATE & EXECUTE
The initial phases of the label development required rapid prototyping and iteration. Therefore, we decided to use Avery labels that would be printed on a small scale. This allowed us to test and refine the design as the product lines scaled up. For example, in the photo below, a white line appeared on the edge of the label. This was quickly corrected in the production PDF. I designed the individual labels using barcodes and Nutrition Labels provided by DOL. Each label is designed so that the pattern is seamless when laid out on a 6-up sheet to be printed on an inkjet printer.
DOL’s line of consumer goods is now in its third year of production, with plans to expand.
We are continuing to work together to scale up the label production to include CSA share boxes, bottles, and full packaging printing.
See the latest at dreamingoutloud.org