Anabel's Evaluation
Anabel's
In trying to decide how I would like to contribute to Anabel's Grocery, I could not keep from thinking about how the store is largely unknown and, seemingly, hardly recognizable around campus. Too often have students known about Anabel's but did not know where it was located, or just have not heard of it before. Even when we were given the option to design a poster or flyer or make some other use of the MannUFactory, I knew I wanted to 3-D Design something. I ultimately decided that I wanted my design to be simple and to utilize what Anabel's has already made their own. I went with a 3-D design of the Anabel's 'A' with accompanying leaves. I figured that the design was simple enough and with enough management of Anabel's brand, the design could become a well-known symbol on campus. When I went into the MannUFactory to actually print the design, it was surprisingly simple as well. My printing was done in a 1hour and 30min, and the only problem that I experienced was the lack of color options to print the design and my lack of access to paint. I have wanted to 3-D print something since my Social Entrepreneurship class visited and toured the MannUFactory, knowing that the process is relatively simple, costly, and the shop will be open during the Summer, I will definitely be back to print more.
To Anabel's Grocery:
Anabel’s Grocery is a shop that is exceptionally beneficial to the Cornell community. The access to a grocery store that is on campus is great value alone, and the idea gets better with the recognition of a large population of financially insecure students and them receiving discounts on food products. However, since its founding, Anabel’s Grocery has not been able to get a leg up on other Ithaca grocery options, such as Target, Walmart, Wegmans, or Topps. Not only does Anabel’s fall behind large suppliers, but the fall behind other campus- wide food options such as Bear Necessities, and Jansen's Market.
In speaking to students and overhearing student comments about Anabel’s, the problem that I believe should be focused on by Anabel’s is exposure. Too often do students say that they have never heard of Anabel’s or do not know where it is located, even if they know of Anabel Taylor Hall. So, to address this problem I have created a 3-D printed prototype of the possible Anabel’s Grocery brand design, the ‘A’. The design, I assume from looking at previous Anabel’s postings and initiatives, is something that has been used before, but it does not seem like this design is used as the one piece to recognize Anabel’s.
Brand management is extremely important to any organization, because people need to recognize an organization even when they see just a little piece of it. From viewing Anabel’s work, this brand recognition is not present in a simple and precise way. I imagine this brand symbol being used as a life size poster board or sign inside or outside of Anabel Taylor Hall in order to get attention from passing students.
In my time at Cornell, I have done a lot of work as it concerns branding. In my student organizations I lead the process in creating a brand for the umbrella of three of my organizations. In my fraternity, since its founding at Cornell, I have been in control of publicity and design, with which I have helped create a brand for the fraternity on campus. Brands should more often than not be simple and straightforward. Without this development of a brand, I believe Anabel’s will continue to find issue with recognition on campus. In the wake of Cornell expanding beds on North Campus and eventually closing RPCC, where many students get food, it is the perfect time to prepare to widely introduce Anabel’s to the Cornell Community.