GS Retail conducted an industry-academia cooperation project with ERICA Campus College of Design to target Generation Z. The theme of the project, which ran from early November last year to the end of last month, was "Design of an Ice Pouch Beverage (a drink in a pouch such as vinyl) package" to be released at GS25. A total of 63 College of Design students formed 28 teams of 2~3 people to participate in the project.

The 28 student teams submitted design proposals containing their concepts based on mentoring, and the final four teams were selected through preliminary evaluations by faculty members of the College of Design and GS Retail. The four teams held a final presentation at GS Retail's headquarters on December 22, and as a result, the "GS22.3" team won the grand prize.

GS Retail first delivered the theme and direction of the project to each team through contactless contact. Since then, a total of two in-person mentoring sessions have been conducted. Until the first mentoring session, each team created their own 게임룸 토토 plans through planning meetings and data surveys. Mentoring was conducted in a way that GS25 게임룸 토토 officials reviewed and advised the 게임룸 토토 proposals submitted by each team.

The first mentoring was conducted by GS25 working-level staffs visiting the ERICA campus. The GS22.3 team chose "word play" (play on words), "world view," and "webtoon," which are the favorites of "Generation Z." According to this concept, the package was designed with sub-titleings on a total of six beverages, and received various advice from GS25 working-level staffs. In addition to evaluating the design concept, practitioners also explained what elements are needed for the drink to be contained in the actual package.

In the second mentoring held at GS Retail's headquarters, the GS22.3 team developed the concept of 'word play', which was the first idea. Working-level staffs advised, "The idea is good, but the plan should be supplemented a little more to be persuasive." Staffs also told them how to persuade opponents on the proposal. The advice of these staffs was of great help in creating high-quality design proposals.

The GS22.3 team, consisting of Yoo Ah-ra (Department of Interactive Media Design, Class of 21), Lee Soo-bin, and Lee Young-sun (Department of Interactive Media Design, Class of 20), created the team name with the aim of "making GS from 25 to 22.3 years old with a young sense." The GS22.3 team was praised for proposing integrated marketing beyond simple pouch design, reflecting the characteristics and needs of Generation Z, including the "meme (pictures or photos posted with funny words on the Internet)" culture and webtoons.
Based on the first and second mentoring sessions, the GS22.3 team proposed pouch design and marketing using memes, word plays, and webtoons. The latest trend 'character storytelling' was also included in the pouch design. In response, Yoo Ah-ra explained, "You need to contain not only the character but also a specific story so that consumers can fall into the character."
One of the reasons for winning the grand prize was that they even proposed marketing strategy. The GS22.3 team thought it would be effective if the "character story" continued, and they even thought about marketing methods to realize it. In addition to the design that suits Generation Z's taste, the marketing optimized for Generation Z was able to be highly evaluated.

Regarding the most memorable moment of the project's activities, Yoo Ah-ra said, "It was a time when working-level staffs heard our ideas and laughed out loud." GS25 design staffs responded that the concept of "word play" was fresh and fun, saying it was an idea that did not exist before.

There were many difficulties while working on the project. Above all, as Yoo majored in Interactive Media Design, 2D-oriented product design was unfamiliar. She said, "The most difficult thing was that I had to study from the fundamental notion of product design." In the design process, she added, "It was most difficult to express the taste of the beverage intuitively while making the concept well revealed."

"It was very meaningful to be able to create ideas while communicating with staffs and present them at a large company called GS," Yoo said in response to her feelings about participating in the program. The award-winning work is expected to be reflected in the actual product package. "It is also a great fruit of this project that I gained confidence as a designer and became interested in the process of contemplating design itself," she stressed.

Lee Young-sun knew about the project through Yoo Ah-ra. Lee said, "I challenged myself because of the idea that I would be able to gain useful experience as much as I was with a large company called GS."

Lee pointed out that the most difficult aspect was having to make a design plan without ever designing a package. She also worried about the concept. This was due to concerns that word play using "paradoxical expressions that maximize strengths" could give a negative sensation. In response, GS25 design staffs encouraged them as it is an interesting project, and thanks to that, they were able to continue the plan they had originally thought of.

In response to her feelings about participating in the project, Lee said, "Based on mentoring by the working-level staff, I enjoyed the process of producing new designs that did not exist before." She also expressed her pride, saying, "There were difficulties, but I was able to see the team developing as the time passes," adding, "I was most pleased that GS Retail staffs found our idea attractive."

Lee Soo-bin's field of interest was not package design either. The project was challenged by the fact that it was a cooperative project linked to a large company and that the award-winning design is actually going to be released. Lee said, "I was most curious about whether our ideas and designs would work in the actual market."

Lee also cited package design as the most difficult part of the project. While preparing the proposal, Lee studied package design, marketing, and persuasive PPT at the same time. One of the things she remember is that it took a long time to set the direction of the design because she did not understand the words of the staffs saying "marketable design."

She said, "Through this project, I've been thinking deeply and diversely about my future career." "I would like to express my gratitude to Hanyang University for providing a great opportunity and to the GS25 design team for sincerely thinking and giving advice. Thanks to all, I was able to fill the end of last year with challenges and learning."