Madrid Buddies
My Bachelor’s thesis project. A cute character goods-focused brand based on Madrid, the city I studied in. Each character represents places in the city and archetypes of people in Madrid one might identify with.
The initial inspiration behind this project was my time spent studying in South Korea. Over there, cute character goods from apps like Kakao or Line function as cultural ambassadors, showing up everywhere from taxi cabs to tourist spots. Since then, I knew that I wanted to showcase and promote the culture of my city through similar means!
Kakao Friends store in Jeonju. The character goods sold here represent the traditional clothing and activities of this historical Korean city.
A series of sketches and character design explorations before settling on the final group. Distinct proportions, silhouettes and shape language were the primary principles driving the design process..
The body of the thesis itself is an analysis of cuteness, cute design and its impact on society. Ultimately thanks to the insights gathered from writing the paper, I developed these characters, with their own world and interpersonal relationships, and a series of products featuring all of them.
These products range from apparel, to snacks and candy, lifestyle items and even canned sardines! (A typical product of the Spanish coast).
A future goal of mine is to refine the idea and launch a proper online storefront with it.
