Roots Zines by Xun Zuo |
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| DESIGN DETAILS | |||||
| DESIGN NAME: Roots PRIMARY FUNCTION: Zines INSPIRATION: Coffee branding often reflects local culture and community, as coffee shops serve as social anchors. As a former international student, I saw coffee, a global symbol, as a bridge to belonging. I visited local cafes across New York, gathering stories from outsiders and navigating connections. This project is both a storytelling platform and a reflection on how brand and experience design shape human relationships. UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: A book of zines, each a voice, a mood, a rhythm. Designed with visualized personal styles from the storyteller, these fragments emerge from coffee shops in New York, where new immigrants seek connection in a fast moving city. Loosely sewn and vacuum sealed, the form speaks of impermanence. This modular archive becomes both vessel and invitation, mapping emotion, honoring small businesses, and asking what design can do when it listens. OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: This book, or zine collection, connects with readers through print in a tangible way. Its unique visual language tells stories while reflecting the personal style of each storyteller. The first zine introduces the inspiration of the project, followed by others sharing diverse stories, reinforcing community. The final zine guides readers on how to participate and invites them to contribute. A business card on the vacuum sealed packaging provides submission details. PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: An ongoing project started in August 2022. The most recent update was in July 2024. |
PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: A modular collection of zines, each using different paper stocks, printing methods, and a mix of sewn and Coptic binding. Every material choice was shaped by conversations with storytellers. Inspired by the Chinese Red Thread legend, the bindings reflect connection and distance. A business card included in the set acts as an invitation, extending the narrative and welcoming new voices into the ongoing story. SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: 203.2 mm x 139.7 mm zine, 6 zines total, 120 pages, printed media with sewn binding, vacuum sealed in a plastic bag. TAGS: Zine, Book, Ethnographic Research, Branding, Customer Experience RESEARCH ABSTRACT: This research combines qualitative and quantitative methods to explore how coffee connects foreign individuals to local communities. It aims to understand how cafe branding influences consumer decision making. Data was collected through interviews, questionnaires, and cultural probes with over 40 participants. The findings emphasize the significance of emotional connections in branding and suggest that businesses can enhance consumer engagement by focusing on emotional design in real life interactions. CHALLENGE: The biggest challenge was conducting interviews with storytellers in a neutral, non leading way, helping them share their stories without guiding them toward specific narratives about their relationship with coffee and local culture. This was particularly challenging because the influence of environment, brand design, and tone on consumers, especially who are not native speakers, is often indirect. ADDED DATE: 2025-03-31 17:15:07 TEAM MEMBERS (1) : IMAGE CREDITS: Xun Zuo, 2024. |
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| Visit the following page to learn more: https://bit.ly/3RmR5ZP | |||||
| CLIENT/STUDIO/BRAND DETAILS | |
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NAME: Xunzuodesign PROFILE: Xun Zuo is a multi-disciplinary designer whose work lives at the intersection of brand, environment, and culture. With a bold heart and a thoughtful brain, he crafts visually immersive experiences that resonate deeply with audiences. Specializing in visual identity systems, Xun is particularly skilled at bringing ideas to life through motion and 3D storytelling. His design language is playful, provocative, and unafraid to be direct. Over the past six years, Xun has collaborated with global brands including Nike, EA, Timberland, Don Julio, and MoMA, contributing to creative strategy, marketing, and pop-up retail design. He creates consumer-centric narratives that transform physical spaces into sensorial, immersive brand experiences. In parallel, Xun has worked with acclaimed contemporary artists such as Futura2000, Nina Chanel Abney, OJAS, and Stash. He led the environmental and experience design for the Nina Chanel Abney x Jordan x MoMA design store, and designed the physical space for CAFEAO—a concept café by Edison Chen that blends fashion, street culture, and café rituals. A coffee lover himself, Xun is fascinated by the café as a cultural and emotional hub that merges hospitality with retail. Originally from China and trained at Pratt Institute in New York, Xun brings a cross-cultural lens to every project. He is especially interested in how people from different backgrounds perceive and physically engage with design in real-world contexts. This sensitivity allows him to craft brand experiences that are not only visually striking, but also emotionally and strategically grounded. Xun is currently expanding his practice at the intersection of branding, experiential design, and fashion, leading culturally relevant projects that challenge conventional boundaries and speak directly to audiences. |
| AWARD DETAILS | |
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Roots Zines by Xun Zuo is Winner in Print and Published Media Design Category, 2024 - 2025.· Read the interview with designer Xun Zuo for design Roots here.· Press Members: Login or Register to request an exclusive interview with Xun Zuo. · Click here to register inorder to view the profile and other works by Xun Zuo. |
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