Collaborative project with Ashley Yep, Tyson Benjamin and Anna Zablah.
Overview
This project was created as a way to bring multidisciplinary designers and the vendors of Market 707 together to work collaboratively. Scadding Court Community Centre began Market 707 as a way to bring together local entrepreneurs serving up to 10 types of delicious international street food, along with unique goods and services to create an urban food and shopping environment unlike any other. The retrofitted shipping containers provide an affordable space for individuals to create their dream business. Our task was to help them with any design needs that could help improve their businesses. Co-designing with the vendors was an essential process to create effective design solutions.
More specifically I worked with a Graphic Designer, an Environmental Designer, and another Industrial Designer. We were paired with Chef Harwash a new vendor specializing in traditional Syrian food.
Duration
September 2019-December 2019
Role
Interview development
Interviewing
Branding/Logo Design
Skills
User Research
User Testing
Design Development
Tools
Interviews
Generative Toolkits
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Approach
This was a semester long project for a class called Participatory Design. The objective for this class and project was to use a Co-design approach.
Co-design is the act of creating with stakeholders (business or customers) specifically within the design development process to ensure the results meet their needs and are usable. (Co-design may also be called participatory design- a term which is used more often within the design community.) The mentality behind this approach is, instead of designing for people, you design with them.
(Stratos Innovation Group, "Co-design: A Powerful Force for Creativity and Collaboration", Medium)
Phase 1: Interviews
When we began this project, Chef Harwash hadn't opened yet and they were in the process of renovating. Therefore, we decided to conduct a couple of open-ended interviews to understand what they needed and were looking for.
The first interview helped us build a report with the client and get to know them.
We learned that Chef Harwash consists of two Syrian brothers that came to Canada as refugees. Even though one brother was an economist and the other an engineer before coming to Canada, their dream was always to start a restaurant. They are two very ambitious and motivated individuals and are hoping this location is just the first of many to share their cuisine with the community.
Interview #2
Talking Points:
• What are some of your ideas or visions for your business? How can we help you?
• Tell us about your menu? What will you be providing?
• What are some of your ideas for marketing? How do you want to present yourselves in the community?
• Do you have a logo or menu made yet? What do they look like? What do you want them to look like?
Insights
• Overall aesthetic: Syrian and Canadian fusion
• Prefer yellow/red colour scheme to draw attention
• Want a clear menu, easy for the customer to understand, and pictures for those who are unfamiliar with the cuisine
• Refine/redesign logo
Goals
• Make items on their menu identifiable, understandable (add pictures & descriptions)
• Refine/iterate on branding & logo
• Design business cards
Phase 2: Design Process
Generative Tools
To facilitate the co-design process with the vendors, we developed a cognitive toolkit. A cognitive toolkit contains a range of simple and symbolic shapes combined with words that can be used to express relationships between ideas or components. We thought that this would be effective in getting an idea of what visual style they were looking for when branding themselves. This toolkit consisted of different cut out elements in which the vendors could rank and give input on.
Cognitive Toolkit
• Introduction Sheet Explaining: "Organize images from least to most liked, feel free to draw or write notes!"
• Topics: Packaging, Menu Design, Typeface
•We provided markers, sticky notes, a glue stick, & scissors
• We also had a reference sheet of different logos, menu, & packaging examples to help kickstart the creative process, especially since the Harwash brothers did not have a background in design.
Insights
• Liked bold, "masculine" fonts: Slab Fonts
• Also liked script style font, more traditional
• Wants bold, vibrant aesthetics
• Want help with Social Media & Website
• Want the logo to have the beard with a hint of a smile
• Must reflect roots & be welcoming
• Like geometric shapes
• Must have Damascus cap, creates balance
Goals
• Tell the story behind the food
• Have about 10 items on the menu
• Formally document recipes (for unchanging flavour)
• Document & Share!!! (Get social media started)
Next Steps
• Iterate logo & menu designs
• Create a social media guide
• Design business cards if there is time
We also got the chance to try their incredible food. They also showed us their food photography and we were quite impressed, they already had a great foundation to get their social media started.
Falafel.
Shawarma.
Saj.
Development
Phase 3: Design Solutions
Final logo bringing together modern and traditional motifs to represent Chef Harwash.
Final Business Card.
Outside: Front cover, Location and Hours, Contact, their back story and passion for food.
Inside: Menu Items, food descriptions and decorative illustrations of menu items.
Implementation Plan
A key deliverable at the end of this project was to provide an implementation plan for the vendors. This way they would know how to properly implement the design work we did, to apply it for the future development of their business and brand. The implementation plan also gave an in-depth social media guide that the vendors could use for reference to structure their social media successfully. Along with this implementation plan we handed over files for all the designs for any future use and development of them.
