2016 designing AT Starbucks.2019 designing FOR Starbucks.(Part 2)

(PART 2 OF 2)

You can read the first part here.

2019. The year that changed everything

At that time, we were putting lots of effort into business relationships, networking, and word of mouth. But we couldn’t know if there would be any outcome or results.

Someone said, ‘the harder you work, the more luck you will have’, and that’s what happened to us.

Fortunately, by January 2019, a friend referred us to Starbucks. It happened suddenly. That friend asked me to send our portfolio to her, and she sent it to Starbucks.

A few days later, we would receive an email from Starbucks inviting us to meet with them.

The first meeting went great.

I was nervous but not afraid. Not getting to work with Starbucks wouldn’t mean so much to us. We were already 3 years in our business and got so many clients that didn’t work out in the end that getting a ‘no’ was expected.

So, we approached this meeting with total honesty and transparency. We mentioned the things we are good at, the things we don’t do, and some of our perks.

For example, we mentioned that we are just focused on branding, we are good with Chinese typography, and we don’t do overtime work.

Starbucks’ immediate response was great. Even more, they found it quite interesting and unique our way of working.

After a few weeks, they contacted us again to sign a contract and send us the briefing for the first project.

Starbucks was growing very fast that year, and they are well adapted to the Chinese market. That meant we had the chance to work on many projects. At least 5 projects every month. That gave us (financially) the oxygen. We could finally gain some profit and safety.

We had the chance to design most of their sub-brands like Starbucks Now 啡快, Starbucks Delivers 专星送, Bar Mixato, Starbucks Foundation, Reserve, etc. Also, we got the chance to work on many of their touch-points, like creating a signage system and systemizing their core menu.

Apart from the great projects and financial stability, working with them resulted in an easier way to get to other brands and how we were perceived as a design studio for the general public. The reason is simple, Starbucks has a high brand value, and it’s very well known in China.

Suddenly it became much easier to explain what we do and for people/companies to open their doors to us. We couldn’t have imagined that when we started.

I really believe that hard work and consistency can get you where you want. And more importantly, taking a long-term view and being radically honest.

Work hard and dream big. Nothing is impossible.

Thank you for reading! If you want to know more about me or have any questions, can contact me on my email: victor@chi-mu.cn or WeChat 18721879643