CandEmo
CandEmo
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A dark candy store with an emphasis on mental health
A dark candy store with an emphasis on mental health
CandEmo is an idea for a company that is the original Emo candy provider. This project was an engaging dive into the worlds of front-end web development and evidence based design.
Visit the CandEmo website: https://candemocandy.netlify.app/index.html
What inspired me to create this company?
What inspired me to create this company?
My original intention for the company was just to create a candy brand with a slight edge that was unique from the usual bright and happy candy stores. However, I found that this idea had the potential to be much more meaningful than I had anticipated. In the heat of the Covid-19 pandemic, nations were experiencing sharp declines in mental health, and I was one of those victims. Typically, candy stores are bright and full of sparkles and rainbows, but what about when life is not just sparkles and rainbows? What if I don’t want to pretend everything is ok?
Emo culture and the genre of emo music is all about this idea. Looking deeper past the stereotypes of dark clothes and scream-singing, emo artists are creating an outlet for people struggling with issues like depression and anxiety to let out their emotions and feel like they are being heard. I wanted to channel this dark power into my candy store, and with inspiration from one of my favorite emo bands, My Chemical Romance, CandEmo was born!
How might I utilize emo culture to create a product experience that promotes mental health and acknowledges that it is "ok to not be ok"?
How might I utilize emo culture to create a product experience that promotes mental health and acknowledges that it is "ok to not be ok"?
CandEmo’s mission is to "Sugar-coat life so that it sucks less for a little while". The company sells candy that is themed off of popular songs within the Emo genre, and also supports the mental well-being of its customers by providing mental health resources and standing by the idea that "it's ok to not be ok".
Products
Products
CandEmo would provide candy products that:
-Are black and white, no matter the flavor
-Are inspired by classic songs from the Emo genre
-Pair with our CandEmo Spotify playlist
-Come with information about mental health resources
Branding
Branding
I wanted the branding overall to be dark, but to also use neon accent colors in traditional emo fashion.
I also wanted the communication style to be of a narrator whose way of speaking is very blunt, realistic, and sarcastic. I made this choice to appeal to an audience that may approach life from a "glass half empty" point of view, but who also is searching for a way to make life better.
How could I test to see if this idea has potential?
How could I test to see if this idea has potential?
Website Design
Website Design
Once I knew specific features of the company, I designed and developed a working website as a prototype for branding, customer interaction, and incorporation of said features. Creating the website was not only great practice in front-end development for me, but also in designing an accessible website for people of varying abilities to interact with.
Creating the Home page was my biggest challenge. I established the dark yet playful branding for the company, and produced all of the graphic art seen on the page as well as the company logo. I explored the use of grids in HTML and CSS to create the matrix of apps on the smartphone graphic.
The About page is where I let the realist/blunt/sarcastic communication style shine through. It also explains what the company provides, which is black and white candy, an Emo Spotify Playlist, and mental health resources. The page is designed to be approachable for both Emo fans and Emo-newbies alike. Though the photo makes the purple font seem a bit dark, all the colors and backgrounds chosen were tested for accessible levels of contrast.
When working on the website, I developed every page except the product pages, which was programmed by a peer. On product pages, I created the names of the candies, which are plays on the classic Emo songs included in the Spotify playlist. I also added a “Buy” button that would be used to track user analytics later on.
Lastly, I coded the website so that it is compatible on both desktop and mobile! On the Music page, I embedded an actual Spotify playlist that can be listened to by users and be saved on their Spotify accounts. I also included a place where users can submit requests for new songs and candy based off those songs.
How do I test if the prototype is appealing to potential customers?
How do I test if the prototype is appealing to potential customers?
Takeaways and Next Steps
Takeaways and Next Steps
Main Takeaways
1. Emo theme was a high risk, but received almost all positive feedback on the theme and the execution of the theme on the website → Emo theme is locked in
2. Black and White candy was a high risk, and received mixed reviews with many suggestions for colors → company will need to provide colored candy options
3. Users spoke the highest of the branding communication style, the candy names, and the sustainable packaging → Communication style and sustainability are locked in
4. Users like the pairing of the Emo theme with the mental health, but it should be a choice of the customer whether or not to include mental health info on the candy packaging → Company needs to provide choice of including mental health resources at checkout
Next Steps
I am very passionate about this company idea, and in the future, I may want to try and make it a reality. I have purchased the domain name candemocandy.com, and I would like to work on improving the layout of my website and the mobile site with my aquired knowledge of interaction and communication design. I also would like to do some testing on populations that do not identify with Emo culture to see if they would be interested in purchasing products not for themselves, but for people they know who do identify with Emo culture.
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