Freakshow

brings attention to a number of issues plaguing the US, including toxic workplace cultures, caffeine dependence, consumerism, the divide between social classes, and capitalism. Freakshow is a fictional company that started off selling coffee on a small scale and eventually grew into an evil, global conglomerate over a 10 year period. Using a heavily satirical tone and circus-themed imagery and language, I created a brand identity for the company and engaged in speculative design to mimic how corporations use design to manipulate their audience -- and how this trend may become even more predatory in the future. This is a Senior Thesis project and was created in collaboration with Alex Bucciero, who is responsible for the illustrations used in various elements of the project.

A timeline showing the evolution from Freakshow Coffee (a small coffee company) to Freakshow Industries (an corporation harming people on a global scale)

Phase 1 2021: Developing a brand identity for Freakshow Coffee and applying the brand to a number of deliverables

Packaging designs for coffee bags, each flavor of coffee references an element of circus culture

Punch cards for loyal, returning customers

The Freakshow employee uniform, including a face mask and apron

Demotivational posters, a satirical take on motivational posters

Freakshow Coffee's instagram, click on the image to visit the page

Spreads from the brand guidelines booklet

Phase 2 2022: DIY NFT creator, this interactive experience pokes fun at the simple and repetitive appearance of many NFTs while continuing to implement criticisms of America’s toxic workplace culture

One of the many possible combinations of features from the interactive NFT creator, click the image to try it out

Phase 3 2024: Employee Training Guide, this interactive experience serves as a training guide for newly employed Freakshow workers

An image from the training guide, click the image to try it out

Phase 4 2027: Coffee IV and Caffeine Inhalation Tank, the employees of Freakshow have a variety of caffeine consumption options available to them

Phase 5 2030 : The Freakchip tracking device keeps taps on their locations and vitals at all times and reports the data to the Freakshow corporation