Shanghai, China | 2020
Brand Evolution
Retail Branding
Campaign Art Direction
Redefining the visual identity of Freshippo's neighbourhood delivery service through a cohesive brand language and scalable campaign design system.
My Contribution
I led the overall brand evolution, defining the visual identity, design principles, and visual guidelines. Working alongside another designer, I led the grand opening campaign while my collaborator focused on user acquisition.
Problem
Mini Station’s original visuals were made for a smaller business. As it grew, three problems became clear:
1. Weak awareness. Users didn’t know what Mini Station was, or how it differed from Freshippo.
2. No clear identity. Campaigns said little about what makes it special: fast, fresh and everyday.
3. No visual consistency. Each banner was designed from scratch, with mixed fonts, colours and layouts, and the look had drifted towards competitors like Dingdong and Missfresh.
The goals followed: build reliance, create a distinct identity, and set up one visual system.
Research
Industry research showed that safety, quality and taste matter most when people buy fresh food online, and that slow delivery and food that isn’t fresh are the main reasons they stop. Our own user research pointed to three typical users: office workers with no time to shop after work, homemakers cooking for the family every day, and older people for whom the market is getting harder to reach. All of them cared about speed, convenience, freshness and variety.
Principle
The concept was “what you imagine is what you get”: show real food in real kitchens, so the value is felt rather than explained. Five principles came from it: people-centred, scene-based, simple, real and warm. Together they describe how the brand should look (friendly, healthy, happy), feel (delighted, easy, safe) and act (fast delivery, fresh food, thoughtful service).
Concept
The creative concept was “what you imagine is what you get”: show real food in real kitchens and homes, so the value is felt rather than explained.
Bold type, soft shapes
Type: Hanyi Yakuhei, a round, heavy typeface that stays readable on small banners and feels friendly rather than corporate.
Graphic symbol: a soft double-bubble shape that frames fresh produce across every touchpoint, from app banners to posters.
Colour: Freshippo red leads, with a neutral grey for backgrounds.
Template system
I reviewed 165 banners from previous campaigns. Font styles varied too much, text was too small, and backgrounds were too busy to read against. I built a banner template in four layers (text, product, light and background) with clear rules: titles up to seven characters, subtitles up to ten, and a fixed image area. Three directions were compared on brand fit, mood, reusability and space before choosing one.
Campaign
The store opening ran in two phases. In the build-up (15–30 August), four themes introduced the service and grew the user base: Mini Station is here, a newcomer gift, fast delivery, and invite friends. At launch (30 August–1 September), four themes pushed bigger deals to drive orders: grand opening, vegetable market, kitchen life, and fruit and dairy. The Freshippo hippo character carries the build-up; real food scenes take over at launch.
Campaign pages
Every campaign page shares the same layout, modules and product cards. Only the theme colour, header and character change, so a new page can be produced quickly and still feel like Freshippo.
Offline
The same character, colours and layout were carried into posters and the store façade for the 1 September opening, so the neighbourhood saw one Freshippo, online and off.
