Coco Co.

Coco Co. is a pop-up that guides guests through the practical uses of coconuts, drawing heavily on Filipino tradition. With interaction, choice, and a take-home product, the experience educates and excites visitors while uplifting Filipino culture.

TIMELINE-

4 weeks

ROLE-

Sole Designer

CONTEXT

An identity and website that excites guests about Filipino culture.

While most people have tried a coconut, sellers typically leave out the significance of the coconut to cultures who regularly consume it. In the Philippines, for example, one third of the population receives their livelihood from the coconut industry. Linguistically, Tagalog has at least five different words for types of coconuts, and buko, young coconuts, are offered as symbols of hospitality and goodwill.

1. Identity

LOGO

The logo sparks curiosity, built on an adaptable symbol.

Coconuts are the fruit of life in Filipino tradition, providing food, water, fuel, fertilizer, bowls, and more. The adaptability of coconuts inspired the tumbling coconut-shaped “o” type treatment.

PATTERN

An Ifugao pattern for bountiful harvests.

Coco Co. utilizes a simplified Linuhhung pattern, which originates from the Ifugao people, a Filipino ethnic group. The Ifugao believed wearing the Linuhhung pattern honored the agricultural gods and would lead to good harvests.

COLOR

Greens and neutrals are taken from the coconut and its environment.

The palette is primarily green, inspired by coconut trees, plus asphalt gray to embody the pop-up's urban nature and add balance.

TOUCHPOINTS

Touchpoints & collateral that promote human connection.

The pop-up provides 360-degree transparency and invites people to walk up and inquire about Coco Co. Signage is inviting and informational. Various materials, lights, textures, and patterns create a unique but comfortable, down-to-earth image. We also opted to avoid large ads like billboards and instead target locations like bus stops to further emphasize the feet-on-the-ground connection of Coco Co.

2. Process/Explorations

COMPETITIVE RESEARCH

Setting Coco Co. apart from the crowd.

Wordmark: due to the fleeting nature of pop-ups, a memorable, readable wordmark logo is ideal for customer recognizability. Without a wordmark, finding pop-ups is a game of “is this the correct place?”

Cultural Connection: cultural connection is the humanity behind experiences, and what elevates a pop-up from a fun time to a place guests recommend to their friends.

Energy: high-contrast colors, moving text and images, and actionable words promote conversion from viewer to guest. Headlines like “visit us” are nonspecific and uninspiring.