Project: KU-RA
Task: To create a future concept brand using future-forward technology and brand frameworks.
Concept: A Future Wellness Ecosystem Where East Meets West
This rebrand reimagines Shopify not just as a store builder, but as a phygital stage where brands perform and users co-create. From AI-generated avatars for accurate fit sizing to live-stream digital brand events, there’s much more coming. This is only the opening act.
Challenge: Health inequity is increasing in America, as health and wellness become a luxury, it does not necessarily lead to an equitable future, nor a preferable future for all. Our concept challenges this with concepts to create an accessible, affordable, and holistic health ecosystem.
Focal Point: I put together the brand architecture and created a customer journey storyboard with a corresponding video to visualize how different consumer archetypes will engage with touchpoints across the marketing funnel: website, social media, print, campaign, and in-person user experience of the flagship house.
ArtCenter Master of Design (MDes)
Class: Futures Branding | Instructor: James Chu
Team: Elizabeth Baiser Raines | Krista Chan
Role: Brand Strategy Co-Collaborator | Brand Architecture | Customer Journey | Storyboard Video
Topic: Personalized Future Wellness
Tone: East-Meets-West
Genre: Speculative Wellness | Health & Wellness | Lifestyle Design
Goal: Preventive Lifestyle Solutions to Current US Healthcare Problems
Media: App | Website | UX Ecosystem
Concepts: Nutrient-Dense Cubes | Biometric Pod Scanning | Adaptive Retail Locations
METHODOLOGY
Stage 1 Research: STEEPX, Competitive Landscape, Futures Wheel
We did thorough STEEPx research and a comprehensive competitive landscape analysis, charting brands on matrix scales. Next, we theorised possible positive and negative future scenarios and subsequent future outcomes. We used this to craft a brand strategy for a preferable future.
Stage 2 Strategy: Brand Attributes, Consumer Archetypes, Personas
We charted 6 core brand attributes. From there, we crafted positioning statements and a value proposition. Next, we created archetypes based on early adopters to laggards. We selected four, one from each segment and crafted more indepth profiles including: demographic research, must-haves, painpoints, and needs.
Stage 3 Identity: Brand Design & Product Concepting
We crafted 30 concepts and charted each on a scale of our brand attributes. We picked the core concepts that matched our brand attributes and developed a brand ecosystem. After that, we developed the brand identity, naming, taglines, and list of applications.
Stage 4 Touchpoints: Digital and Physical Applications, Campaign, and Storyboard
We executed and applied the identity to the corresponding touchpoints such as packaging, signage, campaign posters, physical location mockups and architectural concept drawings.
BRAND ARCHITECTURE FRAMEWORK
KU-RA HOUSE
KU-RA House serves as the physical and symbolic home of the brand’s philosophy, blending East-meets-West traditions in a space that fosters healing, beauty, and community. A mix of a tea-house, apothecary, meditation/yoga studio, and third space community center.
KU-RA CUBES
Nutrient-dense, functional wellness cubes designed for personalization, ease, and beauty. Addresses physical health, supplementation, and nourishment for biohacking, preventive health, and daily rituals.
KU-RA HEALTH (POD SCAN & AURA SCAN)
A biometric health-scanning pod that personalizes wellness recommendations based on body data. Incorporating future technology for more accessible health that would be integrated in KU-RA House in the three-phase system.
KU-RA CARE
An app extension integrating with KU-RA Health scanning for tracking and the ability to have additional health services for holistic care. These offerings could include meditation, health coaching, and fitness content.
CUSTOMER STORYBOARD VIDEO
* Some images and video clips in this project were created using AI-powered image generation tools. Some visuals incorporate unlicensed imagery or artwork derived from existing media. All materials are presented for educational, illustrative, and non-commercial purposes only, with no intention of infringement.