Participants

Maria Rogal
Abby Chryst
Greg Cole
Maria Gabriela Hernandez
Mike McVicar
Ariella Mostkoff
Yesenia Rivero
Laila Simonovsky
Morgan Slavens

Background

Our cards for a creativity workshop with carpenters who were making new high-end products for the tourist market served several purposes. One of the most important is that they re-articulated our design process and concerns to ourselves: audience, research and process, theory and principles of design, resources, and understanding the visual context and competitors. The cards were a leave behind, with a visual projection of the key aspects as part of a participatory workshop. 

Objective

The brand identity
To promote the cohesive and recognizable brand (Kuxtal Sian Ka’an) regionally, nationally, and internationally, that reflects quality, materiality, good design, functionality and the story of the region, in order to connect people to the brand and the products.
Brand and product expansion
To spread the knowledge and stories of the artisans and their work to other contexts, languages, cultures, societies, and ages.
Market value
To increase the sales of products of the brand and the artisans, with the idea to develop better incomes for the families and communities and for the brand to be sustainable.

Brand Attributes

Sustainability
Collaboration 
Respect 
Exchange 
Growth 
Empowerment 
Nature + Culture 

Research/Strategy

Collaborating with Ak Kuxtal, a local NGO fostering small business development, we worked with carpenters to learn about their work practices, concerns, aspirations, and delivered a participatory creativity workshop. We used multiple media to communicate similar messages—visual presentations, a step-by-step description of the graphic design process through the eyes of one student, leave behind materials, and an ideation session with feedback. Through this short (2-day) on-site interaction, what we learned would
significantly inform the way we approached working with artisans. It reinforced that one of the primary obstacles to development is access to information, but just what this information was would not have been otherwise uncovered without our interactions.

Proposed Marketing Strategies

we propose to work on the following

Network with other organizations for brand promotion

• Network with sustainable, culturally aware, governmental, academic, and travel organizations
• Offering the products as merchandising for sustainable companies
• Exchange advertisement for ‘sponsorship’ of reputable companies or organizations

Build a sustainable brand

• Create promotional brand items
• Coffee table book of artisans’ biographies
• Coasters for restaurants in the same areas as hotels that sell the products
• Give away wood door hangers with logo and website to hotels
• Bring products to new environments: Mexico City
  • Museo Nacional de Antropologia
  • Museo de Arte Popular
  • Airport exhibits

New product development

• Annual/bi-annual workshops carried out by UF or students ··from other universities
• Encourage collaboration between artisans by combining ··products
  • Wood Animals packaged in Embroidered Bags
  • Gift Sets with multiple products
  • Involve the family by teaching younger generation technologies and creative processes
• Tutorials and Workshops

we recommend the following:
Artisan development
Encourage collaborations and community efforts, through workshops or activities in the communities where they can share techniques and knowledge. Use materials and products together to develop other products, such as gift sets; or integrate them to improve packaging (for instance, using embroidered bags to store wooden products).
Product development
Encourage innovation and the creation of new product development through workshops where artisans ideate and create two or three new products. We propose yearly workshops for small groups.
Sales and marketing
It is important to be informed about marketing strategies. We recommend creating a sales package, with product samples, photographs, price lists, etc. This sale package should include information, such as materials, sizes, and colors. Also, this packet should include information about the artisans and their process. Also, we recommend purchasing good information sources about marketing strategies and theory, such as the book Mercadeo.com: Apuntes prácticos sobre imagen, mercadeo y ventas para empresarios y gerentes (Spanish Edition) by Juan Carlos Jimenez.
Promotional development
Commission artisans to develop little promotional items for the brand could be an option to increase its line and incomes to keep the brand growing and helping other communities. Another example of products is a line of collectable items, such as wooden dolls or stuffed animals of the region. They may become symbols of the brand.
Image photobank
The photo bank requires traveling to the area and the communities. We recommend Kuxtal work with a photography student from a university in Mexico or the US to facilitate a visit to the region. Getting the highest quality photographs requires professional knowledge and experience to achieve its quality in terms of composition and context. Since many university programs require servicio social before graduation this could be an option for a student. We recommend that Kuxtal set up a mechanism to get in touch with photography students to develop this project in the communities. This experience will allow them to expand their cultural knowledge. The designers who visited will provide all photos to Kuxtal for use.
Publicity
One way we may increase publicity is through promoting the UF exchange with Kuxtal in US design magazines. Since designers read these magazines and buy quality products, own stores, etc., this might be a way to peripherally market the Kuxtal brand and products. The designer of the logo and identity may want to promote her work in Mexico thereby also promoting the Kuxtal project.
We also believe that the UN Foundation may be of help in promoting the project, thereby promoting the brand.

Packaging & Presentation

we propose to work on the following aspects:
Packaging

• Create packaging prototypes
• Ways to encourage narrative through packaging
• Place, Person, Product, Brand
• Specialize packaging
• Appropriate packaging for unique products
• Packaging style guide
• Mechanisms to involve artisans in packaging

Presentation

• Design for the space/venue
• Gives ideas on how to present products
• Portable Gallery
• Window Display
• Ways to encourage narrative while on display
• Place, Person, Product, Brand
• Display style guide

Brand

• Individual artisan marks
• Give resources for sustainable materials in packaging and display
• Brand maintenance for a cohesive message
• Packaging and Display
• Carrying narrative through all aspects

we recommend the following:
Displaying the products
Highlight uniqueness and individuality of products, by displaying them in separate spaces, using samples of the products, highlighting the importance of them, the processes, and story of every product but still under the brand. This will create differentiation in the product line.
Sustainability
Consider using alternative sustainable materials or materials from the region (such as henequen) to package the products, instead of using plastic. Besides, some natural items, such as leaves and seeds could be included in the display.
Unique packaging
Contextualize function of the product, by including individual information of them and how they can be used and preserved. Every product has different characteristics and functions, and these need to be communicated correctly.
Structural display
We recommend creating a collapsible display structure (made out of wood or other resistant materials). This structure will allow the brand to exhibit products easily and transport it fast while keeping a cohesive display which connects directly to the brand style and objectives.

Website & Online Store

we propose to work on the following aspects:
We recommend developing a web site that combines artisan stories and personal experience with an online store featuring their products. By pairing the artist profiles with the products they sell, we will create an experience that is consistent, contextual, and memorable from start to finish. A web store serves the same purpose as a printed catalog but can do much more. Our goal is to simulate buying the products from the artist themselves through storytelling and profiles. Below is an outline of important dynamics of the site.
User experience

• Introduce Kuxtal
• Explain the mission and vision or the brand
• Establish a personal & genuine connection to audience
• Present a narrative or story of the project
• Tell individual stories/biographies of the artisans
  • Make it interactive
  • Highlights the individuality of each product (woods, etc...)

Expandable

• Site will be easy to update with new products and artisan profiles
• We recommend Kuxtal designates a site manager that can ··update products and maintain the site consistently
• Information about the Kuxtal stands and their locations
• Links to Amigos de Sian Ka’an and Kyaat for more information

Visual language

• Simple in both functionality and organization
• Images present the products as beautiful and valuable
• Should communicate the sophistication and elegance of a boutique store
• Clear connection between the artisan and their work

Technical aspects

• Easy ordering process for both the customer and person filling the order
• Site manager should be knowledgeable about the web so that updating is efficient and consistent

we recommend the following:
Attracting visitors to the site
After the creation of a website for Kuxtal, other resources could be integrated, such as games or interaction, which can have different audiences and explore alternative ways to learn about the culture and environment. Initial ideas are to create a rally where players have to accomplish a task to continue to the next town, or a gallery where the products are on display and you can walk inside.
Other products
A small selection of the cards that were used to develop the creativity workshop with Enrique Mendoza and Gabriel Aguilar could be included on the Sian Ka’an website and on our website (design4development.org). If other groups want to purchase it as a didactic material, they may have to do it online to get the complete set.