Roulette
The thrill of the draw
A convenience store ice cream brand inspired by Korean Gachapon culture.
Like the toy capsule dispensers, users experience the thrill of drawing an unknown flavor while winning a small keepsake in every package.
Duration
2 weeks, June 2025
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Type
Brand Identity
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Tools
Procreate, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator
Context
The Rise of K-Culture
​The following project was created during my summer study abroad in Seoul, South Korea. Classes focused on understanding the evolution of Korean culture and its consequential global impact.
For my Brand Identity and Design course, students were tasked with creating the visual identity for a self-conceptualized product. All products reflected a chosen K-Culture industry (beauty, entertainment, food).
Inspiration
Understanding Anticipation Culture
During my time in Seoul, I noticed how businesses created anticipation before customers even engaged with their products. This sense of curated excitement shaped many of my experiences, from local cafes to major attractions.
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The inspiration for Roulette came from Gachapon stores—vending machines that dispense random collectible toys. Their playful unpredictability and affordable price encouraged repeated interaction, a quality I aimed to capture in my project.
There was potential in harnessing the casino-like addiction produced through sustained anticipation.
The inside of a Gachapon store
Research
Why Convenience Store Ice Cream?
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With so many brands, experiences, and products exciting consumers around Seoul, it was necessary to find an industry gap.
What space hadn't caught on to the movement of fun, immersive user experience? The answer was single-serve, grab-and-go food items. My favorite among them—ice cream.
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Especially for busy students and workers, convenience stores are an integral part of South Korean daily life. Even if someone isn’t actively looking for the product, buying psychology predicts that frequent visits passed it will increasingly tempt a consumer to test it out.
Snapshot of stores in my Seoul location radius
The setup for selling Korean convenience store ice cream
Top 10 Best-Selling Ice Creams by Sales Revenue (2023); Source E-Today
User Survey + Insights
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As a foreigner myself, it was impossible to ignore that diversity is part of the young adult demographic in Seoul convenience stores. Foot traffic is composed of foreign visitors and locals alike.
Local interviews revealed
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Users take convenience store trips 2 times a week, to multiple times every day of the week
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Koreans stick to traditional flavors for comfort; Visitors experiment with the same flavors for new experiences
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People continually buy the same type of product because it relates to an external memory/interest
Logo and Branding Development
Excitement + Permanence
Excitement + experimentation drive foreign visitors, and a sense of permanence + nostalgia drive local South Koreans in their ice cream selections. As a bridge between Korean and American taste, both these values had to shine through the designed brand identity.
Chosen imagery reflected both cultural associations.
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The magpie is a symbol of luck and good fortune. It has been the national bird of South Korea since 1964.
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Roulette is a popular casino game across the Western world. Its relation to addictive fun made it perfect as the brand's namesake.
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The wordmark and tagline were generally driven by the words "Fun, Engaging, Surprise, Addictive, and Youthful."
Combining Korean and Western imagery into a potential logo
Analyzing different type for branding
Choosing a tagline
Logo simplification
Narrowing down the brand packaging and logo look
Final visual identity on a mockup
A Flavor Profile for Everyone!
I used mood boards to guide the color schemes of three flavor profiles, which serve both locals and foreigners. Each profile stays true to its taste category—for example, fruity and cream-based popsicles are grouped alike.
Moodboards
Color Application on Logo
Finalized Flavors for Each Profile
Strategy
Creating Memories + Mystery Releases
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With any bet comes risk. There had to be a strategy to mitigate the potential disappointment from receiving a non-desired flavor.
The solution was inspired by K-pop album releases and the limited-edition items that are bundled alongside a CD. Extra items justify purchase costs regardless of what is included, and fans fight to be the lucky few who obtain these special additions.
Reflecting on the values of my brand identity, small collectibles (keychain, pin, sticker, etc.) solidify permanence in the user experience. Initial excitement comes from the thrill of the draw. Yet after discovering their flavor, consumers are left with a tangible reminder of the experience.
I further learned that fan excitement is catalyzed through a mystery-then-reveal advertising strategy. A dramatic reveal could also apply in Roulette advertising, as new collectable releases would come out every month or so.
Inspiration: K-pop album release for Itzy's "Crazy in Love."
Hidden
Revealed
Despite the same four flavors in each "round" (flavor profile), a new collectible drop is featured every month through the mystery-then-reveal strategy.
Continuing Interest
There is an endless supply of interest if the items received in each flavor profile are rotated out. Scarcity appeals to a collector's mentality and urgency to buy.
Specialty drops would include
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Brand partnerships
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Local artist and student collaborations
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Seasonal releases
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The small trinkets would not dramatically impact the price margin either.
Cited by the Korean Herald, less than two months after its release in 2022, Pokémon Bread (containing mystery cards) sold over 10 million rolls.
Reflections
Expanding past Seoul
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Roulette is suited for global expansion. New flavor profiles and regional collaborations could easily draw in any country's population and visitors.
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The major challenge would be finding the right sales touchpoint (ex. South Korean convenience stores). A selected country's physical environment and cultural attitudes must also respond to the ice cream market.
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While Roulette has a thrill for anyone, I don't see it taking off in Iceland.
© 2025 Mayah Hamaoui.