DISCOVER – Getting a pulse on the current state of Hot Topic and youth culture
USER RESEARCH
Our group visited Hot Topic stores to talk to customers and employees. We also got tickets to an underground punk show and talked to attendees about youth culture.
The back wall display inside the Hot Topic in Chesterfield, VA
Team members Robert and Molly in front of a Hot Topic store in Ashland, Virginia
Footage from an interview our team conducted at a Punk Show in Richmond, VA
DEFINE – Distilling the research into actionable objectives
BRAND IDENTITY FRAMEWORK
Our team developed an is/isn’t framework for Hot Topic’s new identity in order to inform our creative process.
ARCHITECT – Mapping out the storefront
BLUEPRINT
It was crucial for me to map out the HT Hub floor plan before I jumped into Cinema 4D. I played with several layouts before moving forward.
MOODBOARD
I spent considerable time gathering source images to help articulate my vision for the space and ensure each design decision was carefully considered.
DESIGN – Bringing the vision for HT Hubs to life
BUILDING IN CINEMA 4D
Prior to this project, my Cinema 4D skills were minimal at best. I took this opportunity to push myself and was pleased with the level of fidelity I was able to achieve.
An inside look at the environment I created from scratch in the Cinema 4D interface
A birds-eye shot of a floor plan draft
A low quality render to test lighting and textures
Tools: Sketch, Photoshop, Illustrator, Google Slides, Cinema 4D