DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
MHL : Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many small businesses have had negative monetary impacts. These businesses require support which in turn supports the local economy. During these unprecedented times, Gong Cha is making an attempt to support the local restaurants in the community.
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
MHL : The goal is to make the brand more unique, creative, and high quality that represents the brand's soul and mission in the premium beverage market. During quarantine, many people missed the experience of dining out while many local and mom-and-pop restaurant businesses suffered. Gong cha wants to provoke people’s desire for tea and food pairing when they order a food take-out, helping local restaurants while also providing individuals with a great eating experience at home.
DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
MHL : Will create more meaningful brand communication for the company.
DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
MHL : The project started in August 2020 in San Francisco and the "Support Small Business advertising campaign" finished in November 2020 in California.
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
MHL : Gong Cha California collaborates with many local mom-and-pop restaurants as well as local food chain brands like poke-bowl, and Ike's sandwiches in California. The three months "Support small business campaign" poster was posted in all the California stores, local restaurants, and on all the social media platforms.
DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
MHL : Gong cha USA CA.
DI: What made you design this particular type of work?
MHL : During the COVID-19 pandemic, I would like to encourage everyone to support small businesses.
DI: Who is the target customer for his design?
MHL : Tea Lover.
DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
MHL : Designed in Adobe illustration, printed on letter size poster paper. Implemented on all kinds of social media like Facebook, Instagram, and Website.
DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
MHL : I'm the only designer working on this project.
DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
MHL : Technology helps designers to complete peace of design and bring the designers' imagination to the real world.
DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
MHL : Gong cha design lab spearheads the design research, ideation, execution, and implementation. The designer started from research articles and blogs online, conducted three 1-on-1 interviews and online surveys, and based on the interview data I learned that many foodies love pairing different kinds of food with different kinds of drinks. A deeper understanding of consumers ' eating habits helps develop the concept for the "Support small business" campaign.
DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
MHL : Gong cha design lab learned that consumers like pairing sweet desserts with tea and pairing food like pizza or noodles with milk tea. The challenge is to showcase many different kinds of food with drinks without overwhelming the audience visually. After a few rounds of sketch and iteration, the best solutions are to use illustration to present different food categories, using real photos to show visual contrast.
DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
MHL : Joining an international design competition is always been my dream, appreciate A'design award and competition to give great designers to be seen on an international stage.
DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
MHL : I learn so much both on conceptualizing a project and the technical skills as a designer.
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
MHL : Thanks, the A'design award and competition give me the opportunity.