The association of Túcume has been dedicated to reviving pre-hispanic technogical traditions for the past 12 years. They work on projects collaborating with musea, institutions, schools, universities etc.
However, what they’ve been struggling with is to translate the craftmanship of local artisans into collections that are in line with the contemporary fashions of the west. To keep the Túcume project sustainable in the future, the current model needs to change. The new model should maintain the Túcume philosophy while giving room to develop a focus on the western world.

Solution
In my opinion the best way to solve this problem is an entire rebranding of the association of Túcume. First of all, it is necessary to create a new visual identity to reflect the aesthetics and philosophy of the new association of Túcume. Next to that the rebranding will involve a project based collection development (in collaboration with local design schools).
After that, the ‘new’ Túcume will be launched with a marketing strategy to raise more brand awareness. The marketing strategy will play into the current trends of nostalgia and transparency, working with storytelling to connect people with the association of Túcume.

Steps involved
1// new visual identity
Complete redesign on Túcumes visual identity, keeping in mind the local iconography and assuring it stays recognizeable as well as attracts a new market.
For the logo design I simplified the existing icon of a bird, making it look more modern and accessible. It’s the perfect example of combining historic elements with a contemporary twist.
Paired with the new visual identity is a catchy slogan: ‘making the past the future’ (‘haciendo del pasado el futuro’)

2// collections
The artesans of Túcume will work together on two collections a year, one for summer, one for winter. The theme of these collections are defined by the trends of that season.
For these collections exists the possibility of collaboration with students of a Peruvian art/design school, such as PUCP, Mod-art, CEAM or UPC. The students will work together with the artesans, applying their ideas and contemporary designs on the historic techniques used by the artesans. In their turn, the artesans will show the students these techniques, raising awareness and interest for pre-hispanic artefacts among the young creatives.
These collaborations create an interesting mix of backgrounds and ideas, resulting in contemporary and conceptually strong collections while maintaining the image and philosophy of the association of Túcume.

2.1 // collaborations
The before mentioned collaborations with art and design schools in Perú will be the core of developing collections. Each semester, the students of one of the schools will enter a project, working together with Túcume during a 3 months programme. The collaboration will kick off with several conferences given by the founders or directors of Túcume, explaining to the students the focus and goals of their company, and the history of the pre-hispanic techniques. This will be followed by several weeks of intensive workshops lead by the artesans themselves, in which the students will learn about the techniques and processes involved in making the artefacts. After this the students will be asked to develop / design artefacts in groups, on the basis of a pre-determined theme. Each group will present their proposals in pitch form at the end of the semester. The students with the best proposals will be invited to work with the artesans during one or two weeks, further developing and producing their products.

3 // marketing strategy
To get more brand awareness for the association of Túcume, the renewed identity will be launched with a marketing campaign, mainly focussing on webcontent and social media.
First of all we need to work on better exposure and findability on the web, meaning the building of a website where one can find all info on the association and collections, a schedule of workshops and classes and an online shop.
Next to that the Facebook of the association needs to be updated to fit the new visual identity. We need to write a ‘social media manual’ with a statement and a tone of voice to maintain the new identity throughout all channels.

Benefits
The rebranding is focussed entirely on modernizing the association of Túcume, without losing its conceptual identity and the philosophy behind it. I believe, that with the rebranding, Túcume crafts are made accessible for a wider group of people, crossing the borders beyond pure souvenirs or over-expensive artefacts.

Through collaborating with Peruvian design schools, the artesans will stay up to date with the latest trends in design, while given the chance to pass on the ancient knowledge they have on their craft to younger generations.

By focussing the marketing online, you reach a relatively large audience, without having to have a large budget. Next to that, it’s easier to manage a global influence on the web.