University Village Pilot
Client: Americas Special Projects and Flagship Design | Starbucks Coffee Company
Project: Tazo Concept Store | Tea Blending Station | Design and Prototyping
Duration: 3 Months (Development through installation)
BACKGROUND:
The grand opening of the TAZO concept store would be the official unveiling of an intensive two-year-long rebranding campaign. When first approached to work on the project, the studio was running at capacity with expedited design and prototyping for the Evolution Fresh pilot. Unable to commit the time and resources, I had to decline. Months later the director running the project asked if I would help him with an urgent problem.
We met the next day in the store mock-up at SSC. It was immediately apparent that the styling of the space was heavily influenced by the new art direction and packaging graphics. I was told that the primary objective of the rebrand was to modernize Tazo while retaining the core of what it was known for, which was the artful blending of ingredients. The key to incorporating this concept into the store was an interactive tea blending station. The station would enable customers to closely examine and choose from three types of ingredients to create personalized artisanal blends. The problem now at hand was that the new station had arrived and was not acceptable.
I was asked if I could rework and elevate the failed design, and create a working prototype in time for the scheduled holiday launch. While standing there we did a quick postmortem on the scrapped fixture. The replacement would need to retain the basic shape and functionality. The glass vessels for the three different types of tea blend ingredients were special, and that needed to be better reflected in the design. As he was saying this, he turned his hand palm up beneath one of the jars and raised it a couple of inches higher in the fixture. The majority of the redesign became apparent to me in that moment.
To integrate the fixtures into the highly stylized space I lifted the primary shapes directly from a new bulk tea package that I had taken back to the studio. I scanned the package to blow up the graphic pattern. I then isolated and modified aspects to get three different shapes that could be cut from 1/2” foam core. I presented these two days later and walked through the rest of my design and pricing.
For a more ordered and simplified functionality I proposed compressing the station to just three ergonomically positioned layers. Two were bypassing wheels of aluminum spokes welded to a hub. The larger bottom wheel would hold the 5 tea bases, and the other would hold the 8 base blends. Each of the wheels would have holders in one of the two shapes taken from the package graphic. To reduce the number of spokes, and to give the fixture visual weight and warmth, I incorporated a solid wood wheel at the top to hold the 13 flavor inclusions along with note pads and pencils. I also wanted to capture the soft coloration of the tea packaging. To illustrate this I made a finish sample on finely sanded aluminum plate evenly misted with intentional overspray of flat-white paint. Finally to facilitate installation the center pole would telescope at the top, and anchor to blocking in the ceiling. The resulting aesthetic would be mimicked on the lower portion of the post. When the meeting concluded, the director took my notes and sketches, had them rendered by design staff, and then presented it to leadership with the foam core spokes and finish sample.
I was given a proof of concept commission and had a single spoke jet cut from aluminum plate. After detailing the metal, the wood bottom was added, and I submitted it for approval. Sign-off came immediately along with a request for a second station for the store. Two weeks later a third station was ordered for the installation of a TAZO vignette back at SSC. All were delivered to their respective sites, on schedule and in time for the grand opening of the store.
