Ooh Lala
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Ooh Lala is a company that specializes in making tasty gourmet chocolate bars and other amazing goods, in all sorts of flavors. A lady by the name of Lala founded this company in 1958 after going to a dinner party with her best friends. The “Ooh” comes from a moment at the party in which Lala’s friend tasted the chocolate and said “Ooh, Lala, this chocolate is great”. Ooh Lala has stores in major cities across the United States and also sells it’s chocolate good on online and through their mobile app.
Ooh Lala has a very retro design feel to its branding and products. Lots of red, tan and black & Russian constructivism inspired design. This project consists of branding for the company. It also includes package design for some of the different types of bars that Ooh Lala creates. Another aspect of this project is the signage for the storefronts and the adverts that would be inside and outside of them. Lastly is the development for the app that Ooh Lala uses to sell its chocolate.
BRANDING
Research
When researching for this logo I looked into many “Retro” designs and styles of type. I looked at type treatment that has fun curves and the more retro style of text having a background or shadow effect to make it stand out. Some examples used slab serif typefaces that might not fit the scope of this project but would have been good for the previous company, McTell. Many popular chocolate brands that I came across utilize a more ornate approach to their logo and brand presence. For example the Divine logo has a very beautiful script type and is gold, the logo almost presents itself as heavenly. The Ghirardelli logo also has a certain prestigious look to it with the borders and ornate floral elements beneath the logo. I knew for the Lala brand to standout it would have to take a different approach.
Sketches
Initial sketches for the logo I did had lots of different styles of text. First doing versions with a script style and moving to a style that included a circle with the name of the company incorporated on the inside. At first I thought the ornateness of the script style would best achieve the look I was going for but I wanted the logo to be more fun and inviting. Mainly because the idea of the company is to have stores where customers can come in and purchase chocolate and a more fun logo would be better at inviting people into the stores. A lot of my sketches revolve around walking the line in between fun and more ornate seriousness that other chocolate companies do.
Iterations
When doing work for this logo I used colors that are pretty subtle and warmer in nature. Most of the colors are feminine because the main clientele will likely be women. When doing the iterations I focused my attention on creating a version that had a more ornate cursive feature, something that could appear more high-end. I wanted the L in Lala to be the focus of the logo. I did a few versions of the logo where the L creates a loophole that balances with the rest of the text. The loophole could also be interpreted as an O from the first part of the name. Later I tried working with types of circles to encapsulate the logo. The Idea being the circle would create a more retro brick and mortar storefront look. After looking back on my inspiration I figured adding a second color to the logo might be a possibility. Not satisfied with how most of those turned out I did some versions where the colors are more complementary instead of contrasting.
Final Logo
In the end I went back to view my research for a third time and thought trying out some of the shadow effects I talked about previously. I was cautious in doing this trying not to over do this effect and make it look cheesy. However this effect ended up creating a nice effect that makes the text pop out. I also decided to keep the idea of a circle encapsulating the text but ended up making it look more like a fluid line. The tagline “Gourmet Chocolate” also works as an extension for the line.
For the color of the logo I came to the conclusion that the combo of a deep red and old paper like tan would complement each other well. The Ooh Lala logo has a retro feeling due to the overlapping text and outlines the text has. I also achieved the fluid feel from all of the curves in the text and the half circle line that encapsulates “Ooh Lala”. I also wanted the logo to take on a stamp like form. The idea being when you buy something at one of the stores it gets stamped with this logo.
For the color of the logo I came to the conclusion that the combo of a deep red and old paper like tan would complement each other well. The Ooh Lala logo has a retro feeling due to the overlapping text and outlines the text has. I also achieved the fluid feel from all of the curves in the text and the half circle line that encapsulates “Ooh Lala”. I also wanted the logo to take on a stamp like form. The idea being when you buy something at one of the stores it gets stamped with this logo.
Color Pallete
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PACKAGE DESIGN
Research
Wanting to keep with the “retro” style the logo established I continued to look at Russian constructivism posters and other design work from that movement that could influence the package design for this company. I came across other examples of companies using series of illustrations of the ingredients that were fused into each bar. I thought this was a very interesting way to portray the differences in each flavor. Other work I came across had a very elegant style where gold foil text was the only standout feature on the chocolate bar wrapper. When doing the research it seemed that there were two extremes present in the examples of packaging, either fun and illustrative or dark and serious. As I did with the logo, I came to think that trying to achieve a middle ground might be a good thing to pursue.
Sketches
With the constructivism movement in the back of my mind I did many sketches exploring different types of lines and basic shapes. I had also played with the idea having different sections separated by color on the packaging of the chocolate bars. When doing the sketches I also had the intention that the packages and bars would only be comprised of three different colors. I also wanted the packages to have a modular layout where each type of info had its own place on the package. Since I was going to be creating the packaging for a few different types of chocolates I also tried to sketch an icon to represent each type. From the beginning I knew that I wanted each chocolate bar package to have its own primary color so they would easily be identifiable for customers.
Dielines
The die template for the box that holds the 20 chocolate bars is relatively simple to create. A simple box where one-end tears open so you take the bars out, it folds into its shape with glue tabs that holds it together. I decided to peruse a style that has a consistent look with the logo. Lots of lines that divide each type of information & each flavor has its own scheme but all have the same 3 colors. Each type of chocolate also has its own illustration. The boxes have the same style as the bars and their corresponding flavor. The boxes have symmetrical left and right sides and topside that is almost that. Each box has info about the flavor and the nutrients info.
Final Packaging
Each chocolate bar box is made with the retro constructivism style in mind and they function well together. The way they all have the same elements helps them achieve a high level of unity. The different flavor illustrations are easily distinguishable and easy to understand. The colors all blend and contrast well with one another.
ADVERTS
Outdoor Adverts
This company has stores in popular urban settings it has to have eye-catching designs to stand out with so much going on visually in a large city. The outdoor signage for this company is intended to be an extension of the brand for the company. For the outdoor signage I thought keeping the same style, as the packaging would create a unique experience. This style of design helps portray the uniqueness of the company’s chocolates. The posters I designed for this company are both advertisements; the one on the right however is used to advertise a specific flavor that being the dark chocolate. The poster on the left is more of a general advertisement of the companies website. Throughout this project I've maintained the same three colors, red, tan and black. These colors help keep the style of design consistent and memorable.
APP DESIGN
Research & Sketches
When researching for the web component of this project I came across other chocolate companies sites and they all seemed to be standard ecommerce sites. They were simple to use and intuitive for any user who has been online to buy something. I came to the conclusion that the sites had a high desire to accommodate return users. This made me think that an app would be an interesting approach to take for Ooh Lala.
Like the other aspects of this project I wanted the design to reflect the style of the unique brand Ooh Lala brings. With an app I could channel the best part of the website in a streamlined process. In my sketching and planning I wanted to capture the design spirit of Lala but not make it over bearing and distracting to the user. With the app I could capture the functionality that is attractive to return users who buy chocolate frequently.
Like the other aspects of this project I wanted the design to reflect the style of the unique brand Ooh Lala brings. With an app I could channel the best part of the website in a streamlined process. In my sketching and planning I wanted to capture the design spirit of Lala but not make it over bearing and distracting to the user. With the app I could capture the functionality that is attractive to return users who buy chocolate frequently.
Web Pages
When designing the interface for this app I tried best to capture the Ooh Lala spirit without making it a detriment to the flow of the app. I used the double red and tan lines as dividers to section off different content. I also kept the same three-color design. The black background makes the tan text contrast and pop well. The app features all of the things that a traditional website would but has a strong flow when the user is logged in, this means that they can quickly make orders. The user when logged in can place an order in fewer steps than when on a website.
Splash Screen
App Menu
Home Screen
Chocolate Bar Menu
Product Screen
Cart Screen
Checkout Screen
Order Confirmation
Store Locator
The app is easy to navigate and has a linear functionality when placing orders. Other functionality in the app includes a store locator to show you where you can buy your chocolate in person. There is also an about section where the user can educate themselves about the process Ooh Lala goes through to make their delicious chocolates. Overall I wanted to stay with the brand of Ooh Lala by using the same color scheme and line work. The darkness of the website also conveys a mysterious, almost secret feeling to the user. Since a big part of this company is doing online sales I thought it would be necessary that the app has a streamlined approach to placing orders.