| BJ’s MULTI-BRAND RETAIL DISPLAY | Art Direction & Package Design
BJs Cart CDUs in collaboration with Farberware & KitchenAid
CLIENT: BJs and their customers
ROLE: Art Director & Graphic Designer
DELIVERABLES: Retail cart program design, custom CDU concepts, structural prototypes, retailer presentation mockups, packaging guidelines, cart signage, custom dielines, production-ready artwork, and design review/approval for cross-brand partner assets.
CHALLENGE & APPROACH: Develop a cohesive retail cart program for BJ's that brought together products from Chef'n, Farberware, and KitchenAid while maintaining a consistent customer experience. Working under an aggressive timeline and constantly evolving requirements, I created custom CDU designs, packaging guidelines, retailer mockups, structural prototypes, and final signage. I also reviewed and approved artwork, dielines, and production files from multiple designers to ensure the entire cart program remained visually cohesive across all participating brands.
Creating custom dielines for inserts and hand cutting 4 CDU trays.
First Round: Initial prototype based on the shelf dimensions provided at kickoff. Once updated measurements became available, the structure required revision to better fit the cart environment.
Second Round: Revised CDU with a lower-profile structure designed to accommodate updated shelf constraints while maintaining product visibility and accessibility.
Third Round: With only 30 minutes to prepare concepts for buyer review, I rapidly developed several prototype options for immediate feedback. While rough by necessity, the prototypes helped accelerate decision-making and move the project forward.
Shake Test
Got to make sure the products don't fly out during transport. If you're curious, take a peek at my very scientific shake test.
Completed hand cut CDUs
CDUs nice and cozy on the temp cart at the BJ’s staging facility.
With the design direction approved, I created the final hand-built CDU prototypes and shipped them directly to the BJ's staging facility for buyer review. Because the cart included products from Chef'n, Farberware, and KitchenAid, additional CDU trays were developed to create a more cohesive and unified presentation across all participating brands.
Final Revisions & Cart Signage
More cha cha changes! As the project moved into final production, the product assortment changed once again, requiring new dielines and structural adjustments to accommodate the updated selection.
Additional in-use photography was incorporated into the CDU designs to better communicate product functionality and help customers quickly understand how each item was used. To increase visibility and create a stronger presence on the sales floor, the final program was expanded to include a large header sign and two cart side panels.
While I wasn't able to capture a photo of the completed cart in-store, the final signage, artwork, and production files are shown below but you can use your imagination!).
