Hobby Box | Capstone — Kaylee Masullo Designs

PROPOSAL

Project Scope

Creative minds often experience something referred to as “art block”. From the busy-ness of our everyday lives to the lack of inspiration, it can be very discouraging. One way to combat an art block is to try a new hobby or outlet of creative expression. The challenge there is figuring out what new hobby may interest you, and acquiring the countless (and sometimes expensive) supplies needed in order to get started with a new hobby. As a potential solution to these predicaments, I’ve thought of a service that allows creatives to experience a new hobby on a convenient trial basis.

Hobby Box is a mail order subscription service that provides people with all the materials they need in order to get started trying out a new hobby. By eliminating the negatives of purchasing a bulk of supplies, it gives creatives the chance to decide if this new hobby is something they enjoy and would like to pursue further; all for an affordable price and convenient delivery.

Demographic

The primary target audience will be adult women, ages ranging from 18-50. According to the Association For Creative Industries (AFCI), 72% of crafters are women. Although my target audience ranges from young adults to middle aged women, the crafting industry continues to grow and diversify every year (especially in recent years as a result of COVID-19 and working/being at home more) and therefore this subscription may also appeal to those outside the primary demographic.

Deliverables

1 primary logo design
3 subscription box designs
Branded materials/supplies for featured hobby
Instruction pamphlet for featured hobby
Artist feature piece
Planner sticker set
Prototyped website (Adobe XD)

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Company Profile

Hobby Box is a company for all. Founded and designed by Kaylee Masullo in 2021, our subscription service caters to any and all who desire to express themselves through creative and artistic means. At Hobby Box, our main goal is to encourage self expression. We want you to actively practice your hobbies so you can reap the benefits that creative outlets bring to both your mind and body.

We realize that trying a new hobby can be daunting. Supplies can be expensive, and usually only available in bulk! Not to mention making the time for it can feel next to impossible. We feel ya. That’s why we have curated the best hobbies into convenient packages, with step by step instructions, AND we send them straight to your door. Everything you need to discover a new hobby is right inside. It’s so easy to Create Outside the Box!

Company Logo

Symbolism is Creativity’s best friend. The concept behind our logo has lots of both!

The spark: The asterisk in both our primary and secondary logo marks symbolizes the spark of creativity

The box: The box is quite literal, but don’t count it out! When the spark is stacked above it in the primary logo, it’s a subtle nod to our company tagline, “Create Outside the Box.” Pretty neat, huh?
In the secondary mark, when both the spark and the box are combined, it creates a perfectly wrapped package.

Objectives

To independently research, design, and produce a mail order subscription service including logo, website, subscription box, instruction pamphlet, stickers, and some branded packaging of hobby materials for creatives seeking to try a new hobby.

To thoroughly research the target audience and position the deliverables to be appealing to a broad range of creatives
To develop an effective and aesthetic brand that is carried across all components of the project
To compose an achievable timeline including milestones that precede a final deadline
To process each component of the project while applying critique acquired from peers and instructors
To compose and build all deliverables to a professional level while maintaining a cohesive brand aesthetic
To thoroughly present the Hobby Box subscription service; from it’s process to its completion

Trust the Process

Research

When I began research for this project, I found that the most successful subscription services provide something that is needed, rather than just “stuff”. Subscriptions that cater to hobbies make up about 15% of the subscription service market. While some consumers initially subscribe for convenience, what keeps them from cancelling is the unique retail experience that the service is providing them. This is a prime example of when evoking the right feeling with brand design is critical. The design is just as important as what comes inside the box.

So what sets Hobby Box apart from its competitors? Other companies are peddling one and done crafts. What I mean by this is, you get a single activity and it will have the same end product as all it’s other consumers. Unlike its competitors, Hobby Box is about developing HOBBIES. Something you enjoy enough to keep coming back to again and again as a creative outlet. Hobby Box focuses more on giving you the tools you need to take your creativity wherever it wants to go. Which is where the brand’s tagline comes in, “create outside the box”.

Mental health was a large influence for the idea behind this project. While we have had many obstacles put before us recently, self expression should not be one of them. Now more than ever, we all need creative outlets to get through these trying times. Multiple studies confirm that being creative can increase positive emotions, lessen depressive symptoms, reduce stress, decrease anxiety, and even improve immune system functioning.

“Subscription Box Packaging: The Design Guide.” Web. 06 May 2021.Horstmeyer, W. (2021, January 11). “10 Subscription BOX Trends for 2020 - GRAVY SOLUTIONS.”
Fenyo and Yang, W. (2019, October 3). “Thinking inside the Subscription Box...” McKinsey Company

Moodboard

I wanted to incorporate bold patterns and colors in my branding. Here are some images that gave me some of my inspiration. I felt that the designs that worked best here had one really bold color, and then some neutral colors that provided areas of rest for balance.

Logo Thumbnails

Logo Process: Something that I was aiming for since the beginning was something that was contemporary and modern. I wanted the brand to have a level of sophistication that its competitors were lacking. For that reason I was exploring a lot of geometric options. I had the idea early on to design different patterns for each box, so I wanted a logo that was versatile so that it paired well with various styles. I found myself leaning toward symbolism in my mark, which I feel speaks even more to the creative values of the company

finalized primary logo

I also designed a secondary logo mark which combined components of the primary logo into a square format. This is used throughout the branding as an accent or in places where the primary logo isn’t ideal.

visual breakdown of logo mark and symbolism

*single color / black and white versions of the logos*

Style Guide

CONTRAST BOLD AREAS OF REST TACTILE

Color: The brand colors are, obsidian, electric green, bone, and I also utilize a textural element which is brown craft paper. The combination of black and electric green provides a lot of contrast, while the colors bone and the craft paper brown allow areas of rest for eyes coming off the vibrant colors. I initially got the idea for something this vibrant when working on my logo thumbnails. I happened to colorize a logo concept with a highlighter. I thought, not a lot of brands use something this vibrant, so that would definitely set it apart and be really eye catching. The brown craft paper brings a tactile textural element to the brand colors that evokes the feeling of a blank canvas.

Screen Shot 2021-05-24 at 5.09.30 PM.png

VERSATILE HINTED SLIGHTLY SQUARED SUBTLE FLARE

Typography: A big theme for me in designing a brand is versatility, the typeface I chose also has that characteristic. I chose Tofino Pro Personal because it has many styles and weights and it is used as the logotype as well as the rest of the brand’s type. I chose a wide and regular version of the typeface, in the weights bold and regular. I felt that those styles provided a lot of contrast amongst each other without being vastly different typefaces. I also appreciate that the type face is slightly squared and therefore relates to the mark components and strokes. It also has a subtle flare to it that sets it apart from typical sans serifs. Another plus about this typeface is that it is professionally hinted, so it is great for the web on many devices and sizes

Packaging

Packaging Process: In order to keep up with the artistic values of the Hobby Box brand, I thought, wouldn’t it be so cool if artists were involved? So I came up with the idea that the box patterns could theoretically be art that was submitted by artists who would then be featured in the box and on the website. This would be great incentive for consumers to become involved in the branding, which would be a great marketing piece and also gives artist recognition.

Keeping that in mind, when I designed these patterns, I wanted them to look like they could have been made by different artists. A trade off to that would be to make sure that the box designs still related to each other as a brand. To do that, I consistently use the color palette in the same way, and I was sure to incorporate texture in all three designs. It was also important that the designs that alluded to what was inside the box/what the hobby was.

*Pattern designs for three different Hobby Box mailer boxes.*

ALLUSIVE ARTISTIC EYE-CATCHING TEXTURAL

UNBOXING EXPERIENCE

The following photos exemplify what the unboxing experience would be like for a consumer. The box I chose to feature for this project is the Linoleum Block Printing Box. As I did for all the subscription box designs, I tailored the packaging of the block printing box to allude to the hobby that was inside. I do this by incorporating textures and repeating the pattern that is on the outside of the box. To keep all elements of the individual subscription in line with the overall branding, I stuck to a strict color palette, similar type treatments, and the use of the secondary logo mark.

Subscription Box (1 featured), Instruction Pamphlet, Planner Stickers, Artist Feature Piece, Branded Supplies