Marketing Design

BACKGROUND

Osaka Marketplace is a Japanese supermarket located in Fremont, California, and was founded in 2021 by Japanese immigrants. It is located in a shopping center with businesses owned by and targeting East Asian customers.

LOCAL JAPANESE CUISINE

It stands out for being the only Japanese supermarket in the city and attracts a wide customer base of locals young and old, mostly of Asian descent, for its fresh sushi, sashimi, bento lunches, and other popular Japanese food items.

GO-TO FOR JAPANESE BEAUTY

It also stands out among other Japanese supermarkets in the greater California Bay Area for its uniquely extensive selection of Japanese beauty and personal care products.

I work for Osaka Marketplace as a marketing designer and social media producer. Please enjoy some highlights of my work below!

What is it?

Osaka Marketplace's annual Beauty Fair is a month-long campaign with special discounted prices on a wide selection of Japanese cosmetics and beauty products.

My Assignments:

・Key Visual for Instagram (IG)

・Beauty Fair Specials Ad

・Website Banner

・Thank You Post for IG

Key Visual for Instagram (IG)

Purpose:

Promote 2024 Beauty Fair to Osaka Marketplace’s IG followers, and establish the visual direction of this year’s Beauty Fair.

Where it would be seen:

On the Osaka Marketplace Instagram, on the website, and around the store as a poster.

Goal:

Increase user engagement on the IG, the number of customers in-store, and overall sales profit from the Beauty Fair compared to the previous year.

2023 Design

My First Design

Final Design

My first design was based closely on the previous year’s design, while updating the look to be brighter, feature more products, and make better use of negative space and leading the viewer’s eye.

But, I was given feedback by management requesting a bigger visual departure from the previous year’s design. My final design keeps the logo but, puts the products front and center, using them as dynamic graphic elements to entice viewers.

Final Design

200%

increase in engagement

The 2024 Beauty Fair Announcement post had an increase in engagement (likes, comments, and shares) by over 200% compared to the previous year’s Beauty Fair Announcement post.

Beauty Fair Specials Ad

Purpose:

Introduce the items for sale & their prices to customers.

Where it would be seen:

on the Osaka Marketplace website and around the store.

First Draft

Final Draft

Some of the feedback I received on the first draft included: (1) please make the “Beauty Fair Specials” banner stand out more, (2) it’s difficult to see the items against the dark pink background, and (3) please put a stronger division between the “Beauty Fair Specials” section and the “November Specials” section.

Other Beauty Fair Promo Materials

Hero Section Web Banner for Osaka Marketplace Website

From Left to Right: Specials Ad for IG, In-store Posters, “Thank You for Joining Us” Post for IG

What is it?

Osaka Marketplace's Anniversary Festival is a 3-day event celebrating the anniversary of the store’s opening. Customers can enjoy freebies, special deals, freshly cooked Japanese street food, and the latest snacks from popular brands that set up booths inside and outside the store.

Main Assignments:

・3rd Anniversary Logo & Key Visual

・Promos for “Asian Style Chips” Demo

3rd Anniversary Logo & Key Visual

Purpose:

Promote the 3rd Anniversary Festival to Osaka Marketplace’s IG followers, and establish the visual direction of this year’s festival.

Where it would be seen:

On the Osaka Marketplace IG, Website, and In-Store.

Goal:

Increase user engagement on the Osaka Marketplace Instagram, the number of customers visiting in-store, and overall sales profit from the Anniversary Festival compared to the previous year.

Look Development

From the initial sketch phases to the final drafts, I wanted to emphasize the roots of Osaka Marketplace with a 3rd anniversary logo that included Japanese script and brush-stroke style typefaces. I also took their ginkgo-leaf logo, cloned it 3x, and turned that into a traditional pattern.

Final Design

200%

increase in engagement

The 3rd Anniversary Festival announcement post had an increase in engagement (likes, comments, and shares) by over 200% as well, compared to the previous year’s 2nd Anniversary post.

Anniversary Festival Featured Product: Calbee Asian Style Chips Flyer

Purpose:

Advertise the in-store product demo of Calbee’s new item to customers attending Osaka Marketplace’s 3rd Anniversary Festival.

Where it would be seen:

In store, as well as on Osaka Marketplace’s Instagram.

Sticking to the bright, colorful design of the Asian Style Chips’ packaging, my poster and Instagram visual incorporated vertical stripes as an homage to Japanese superhero teams--namely the Power Rangers, and their split-screen transformation scenes.

Holiday Season Ads

Halloween

The goal for this IG ad was to promote to our customers all the special Halloween-themed snacks sold at Osaka Marketplace during the lead-up to October 31st. In addition to the product images, I wanted to incorporate as much Halloween imagery as possible, with a Japanese flair.

Thanksgiving

The goal of this Thanksgiving ad was to do a holiday greeting for our followers, as well as to communicate our special holiday hours. The visual was inspired by the flocks of turkeys that inexplicably show up in my neighborhood during this season. The challenge was to catch peoples’ eyes and make the holiday hours stand out against a busy background.

Christmas

Similarly, the Christmas ad was also to communicate our special holiday hours and to celebrate the holidays with our followers, as well as customers in-store.

Christmas - Holiday Gift Guide

The holiday gift guide was an idea I originally pitched to help customers navigate our display tables full of various cookie/cake gift boxes, since many of them had nondescript gift wrap packaging and/or Japanese text only. Not only was this gift guide posted on Instagram, but also on our website, and it was printed out placed around the gift tables in store.

New Years

The New Years ad design took inspiration from Japanese calligraphy and traditional greeting cards called “Nengajou.” I ended up creating a few different versions, with some emphasizing the manager’s thank-you message (the Japanese text), and some emphasizing our special holiday hours.

New Years BAYSPO Newspaper Ad

I also designed a New Years ad for Osaka Marketplace in the local Japanese-language newspaper BAYSPO. Since the audience was Japanese-speakers I made the effort to translate all the text from last year’s ad to Japanese, while also updating and adding to the design, and promoting the unique features of Osaka Marketplace to any readers of BAYSPO who have never visited.

New Years - Lucky Bags

A promotion for our New year Lucky Bags - a common tradition in stores in Japan, where they will sell mystery bags of discounted items during the New Year. The important thing here for the users was to differentiate between our $30 Red Label Bags and our $50 Yellow Label Bags. We also needed to communicate the release date, and that we only had a limited quantity.

ANDRE HUANG

Role: Marketing Designer

October 2024 - Present

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If you’re interested in my services, or you just want to chat, please feel free to email me or connect with me on LinkedIn!

ANDRE HUANG