Cottontails

For Product Environment Material, I picked the commodity of corn and turned it into a product and an experience. As a commodity gets developed, it grows in value.

In my research, I identified 3 core issues with the cereal industry:

There were very few vanilla-flavored options in the market. Most options were chocolate or fruit-flavored.
Corn farming is unsustainable. Certain GMO corn strains and pesticides cause harm to native populations (and potentially to consumers).
Children are being fed massive amounts of corn syrup, leading to cravings for more sugar. Corn syrup is also very fattening.

A sketch of a box of Cottontails vanilla corn puff cereal. Unlike the final version, this box is very rectangular.

I chose to transform corn into a sustainably grown cereal for health-conscious parents and their children. Originally, I was planning on a typical rectangular box, but my professor recommended something a little more playful.

A series of color palette ideas for the final Cottontails Box. On the left is "natural, organic" colors and on the right is "fun, exciting" colors. Down the middle is a set of color pallets that embody bits of both.

I tried a series of color combinations. I was running into an issue where natural colors seemed too “boring,” but fun and exciting colors seemed artificial. My final product is a mix of the two.

In the end, I created both a product and an experience that embodied the qualities of fun-loving and consciousness.

My project aims to be more than tasty cereal. It also seeks to provide an experience that teaches about sustainability and responsible pet ownership.

Product

A dieline of the final Cottontails box, with four sides (prizes, maze game, nutrition facts, and character illustration) and a paper "Cottontail" on top.

A photograph of the finished Cottontail box on a navy blue background. It is a culmination of 4 photos, showcasing the different sides of the box.

I also created an idea for an in-store display for these irregularly shaped boxes.

An illustration imposed upon a real photo of a cereal aisle of a cardboard display for holding Cottontail boxes. It features a large Cottontails box in which all the smaller boxes fit, and a Scout cutout on lookout duty.

In Cinema 4D, I developed ideas for toys and mascot costumes.

A 3D rendering of the three Cottontail characters (Bandit, Scout, and Hunter.)

Close-up of the previous 3D rendering, highlighting Bandit the rabbit who is a middle value brown and wears a black bandit mask.

Close-up of the previous 3D rendering, highlighting Scout who is a light brown rabbit and wears a green bandana.

The troublemaker of the group.

Bandit

Scout

The best look-out in town.

Hunter

Gathers food for the colony.

A flyer inviting families to Cottontails "Farm Fest 2025." The flyer lists activities hosted on the farm with an illustration of Scout with his cereal bowl next to a red barn.

Experience

An A-Frame sign mockup for "Scout's Cereal Stop," which serves various forms of cereal treats. At the bottom of the sign is an icon of Scout.

A map of activities to do on the farm with icons representing each one. For example, there is a rabbit icon at the rabbit petting station.

A Photoshopped image of the Cottontail Crew in front of the "Farm Education Center" featured at the fest.

A mockup of a sign for an organic market ran by Cottontails' parent company, 2 Promise Organic. Vegetables line the top and bottom of the sign.

What If…

Our farm experience has a rabbit petting zoo. What if children feel compelled to own a rabbit after interacting with the rabbits on the farm?

This may seem fairly innocent, but rabbits are one of the most frequently abandoned and rehomed pets. They are also very destructive animals and will eat cords and furniture.

How can we promote responsible rabbit ownership?

The back of a postcard designed to prevent children from taking in wild rabbits and to encourage smart decisions when purchasing rabbits. It features Scout telling of a time where his siblings were taken out of the wild.

The front of a postcard designed to prevent children from taking in wild rabbits and to encourage smart decisions when purchasing rabbits. It features the Cottontail Crew petting a gray and a black rabbit.

My solution was to give the children an educational postcard at the end of the petting zoo.
The front is a keepsake, and the back is a notice about proper rabbit care.