Frost Collective Studio: Design Philosophy and Analysis Report

This report provides an overview of Frost Collective, a London-based design firm founded in 1994 by Vince Frost. It details the firm's restructuring into Frost* Collective in 2014 and its five specialized teams: Urbanite, Frost Design, Nest, and Jack, each focusing on different aspects of design. The report highlights Frost Collective's commitment to human-centered design and its impact on projects like the redesign of Jamaica Blue. The studio's physical environment, described as a warehouse-like space with collaborative desks, is analyzed for its influence on the firm's collaborative work style. The report also examines Frost Collective's website and design process, emphasizing their approach to customer experience and brand strategy. The firm's response to the pandemic, including remote work strategies, is also mentioned. The report's analysis of Jamaica Blue's redesign demonstrates Frost Collective's comprehensive research and its focus on creating a strong connection with customers.

FROST STUDIO
INTRODUCTION
Frost * Collective design firm was established in London and founded by Vince Frost in the year
1994 and hence the name frost. It later became Frost* Collective in 2014 when Frost announced
an important restructuring of the business.
It has five teams with each specializing in different categories of design. Their bigger aim is
ensuring design for a better world which gives them the opportunity to inform their human-
centered approach to design. The five teams include: Urbanite; which encompasses spatial
branding experience, Frost Design; which inspires brands to life, Nest; which focuses on
simplicity, beauty, usefulness, and digitality, Jack; is a mindful packaging.
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Considering Sydney Studio has a space like that of a warehouse with collaborative desks and no
individuals, closed-off offices. This type of space looks like a perfect complement to Frost's
collaborative way of working. Its main focus is comfortability, relaxation, and stylishness. Their
meeting is named 'bold', 'medium', and 'light'. According to Frost, space is dedicated particularly
to design, that is, the creation of space that is conducive for collaborative working.
IMAGES OF THE STUDIO
Frost*Collective in response to the pandemic has had everyone work from home and trying to
keep morale up by continuing on breakfast meetings and keeping a positive, upbeat attitude.

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FROST* COLLECTIVE PROJECTS AND DESIGN

Image NUMBER - Redesigned Jamaica Blue Coffee Cups
The top-to-bottom redesign of Jamaica Blue is a good example of how Frost rebrands and
reshapes a company's identity. Right from the beginning, we can see how their "human-centered"
approach comes into play.
The company has been around since 1992, but they felt like their brand identity, and the
atmosphere had fallen behind in the hospitality market, which had slowly grown noisier and
more attention-driven.
So Frost started with a company-wide research project spanning 10 weeks. They consulted 114
on-site customer intercepts, 58 off-site intercept interviews and had 11 staff/manage/owner
interviews.

That level of research is what allows Frost to gain a deeper, more in-depth understanding of the
people behind the design - and one can argue that design is inherently human. So, their decision
not to skip the human element is what gives them an edge in the design process and outcome.
Image NUMBER - Jamaica Blue Flyers and Packaging
This project included both the Customer Experience and Brand Strategy to be designed in
parallel. The process required a solid base of research (assumable primary) to be conducted in
order to gain a holistic understanding of the brand and its perception.

They refer to Customer Experience as "all the interactions and perceptions between a customer
and (the) brand". In this way, Frost doesn't try to "force information into boxes", but embraces
the complexities of a society and a context that is ever-changing.
This process means that the outcomes should result in understanding "key drivers" and "main
frustrations" with regard to the shortcomings of the brand.
In their research, they determined that existing customers liked the store experience, but non-
existing customers considered the stores dated and of average quality.
These were comfortable stores, but not visible, so this project was about leaning into what made
Jamaica Blue's brand enjoyable in the first place, but making it accessible and more visible in
today's hospitality climate.

Image NUMBER - The Design Elements Created for the Jamaica Blue Redesign
For the redesign, Elements of the redesign included a completely new visual style and a revised
contemporary logo. Leaning into Frost's great use of colors and shapes, they developed a new
phone app, a custom typeface and revised color scheme, paying homage to both the company
and to Jamaica.
It is clear that Frost'
Although the visuals are vectors, the style is quite reminiscent of hand-drawn imagery. In a
sense, this is another link to the human element - a highly polished design would almost play a
role in increasing further subliminal severance with the customer.

Image NUMBER - The New Jamaica Blue Phone App
Frost* aimed to create this design hand in hand with the customer experience, and as such, put
action to their new brand by applying it to a phone app, for customers to engage with. A phone
app is useful for developing a relationship with a modernized audience, as much of their lives are
digital. This allows customers to interact with Jamaica Blue on an entirely different level. As
seen in the image above.
FROST WEBSITE
Since Frost* Collective is a design-oriented firm, it has ensured that it's users not only get the
right information from the website, but also the coolest projects and designs. The website is fast

and contents are organized in a clear and precise manner, that is, one cannot struggle while
getting the right information.
References
Frost* Collective. (No Date). Escape and Refresh - Jamaica Blue.
https://www.frostcollective.com.au/projects/escape-refresh-jamaica-blue
Frost* Collective. (No Date). Experience Design.
https://www.frostcollective.com.au/nest/services/experience-design
Frost* Collective. (No Date). Standing Out In A Noisy Hospitality Market.
https://www.frostcollective.com.au/projects/standing-out-in-a-noisy-hospitality-market-jamaica