Communication strategy: CRADLE brand
Brand packaging
CONTENTS
1. Our reflection on how communication theory works in the field of design and contemporary art 2. Presentation of the CRADLE brand for a broad audience 3. Presentation of the CRADLE brand for a professional audience 4. How we developed the strategy with the help of the course
Our reflection on how communication theory works in the field of design and contemporary art
Within the course Communication Theory: Bridging Academia and Practice, communication is defined as a process of meaning creation and interpretation that occurs through the exchange of verbal and nonverbal symbols and is always shaped by context. This approach allows design to be understood not as a supplementary tool, but as a fully developed communicative practice.
The course emphasizes that communication is a continuous and systemic process, where participants simultaneously act as senders and receivers of messages. Visual communication in design follows the same principles: the designer encodes messages, while audiences decode them based on personal experience, cultural context, and existing systems of meaning.
Communication theory in the course is also presented as an abstract system of interconnected concepts that functions as a tool for describing, explaining, and predicting communicative processes. In this sense, theory operates as an analytical «lens» that helps focus on specific aspects of communication while consciously limiting interpretation.
A key distinction in the course is made between objective and interpretive approaches to communication theory. For design and contemporary art, the interpretive approach is particularly relevant, as it views communication as multiple, contextual, and open to interpretation. Meanings are not transmitted directly but are constructed through interaction between the message and its interpreter.
Thus, the course frames design as a communicative process in which visual forms, materials, and images function as symbols participating in meaning-making rather than as purely aesthetic elements.
Presentation of the CRADLE brand for a broad audience
CRADLE is a witchcraft brand, made to create eco-friendly esoteric merch for personal use. The goal was to adapt such concept for the preferences of modern customers
Brand logo
Who is our target audience?
1. Modern Witch (23–35) • Interest in tarot, astrology, herbs, candles. • Active on social media, values visuals and atmosphere. • Seeks an aesthetic, «Instagrammable,» yet not superficial brand.
2. Seeker / Explorer (28–45) • In search of meaning, balance, and inner grounding/self-reliance. • May come from a background in psychology, yoga, or philosophy. • Values texts, descriptions, legends, and symbolism.
3. Aesthetic Collector (25–40) • Buys objects as artifacts. • Appreciates packaging, rarity, and limited editions. • Magic = an aesthetic and emotional experience.
Brand banner
From a Communication Theory Perspective, the effectiveness of CRADLE’s communication (its visual and textual language) depends entirely on the context. The audience possesses the specific cultural decoder to interpret the brand’s duality:
1. The «natural» elements (eco-materials, forms) are decoded within the context of sustainable consumption and wellness.
2. The «alien» elements (mysterious typography, abstract forms) are decoded within the context of modern mysticism, symbolism, and avant-garde design.
Without this shared contextual framework, the communication breaks down or is interpreted superficially as mere decor. For this audience, it is understood as a toolkit for identity and practice.
Brand t-shirt
«Where the familiar meets the unknown.»
This slogan reflects CRADLE’s core communicative idea: witchcraft as something both close and alien, rooted in everyday life yet carrying mystery.
From a semiotic tradition, the slogan functions as a symbolic bridge. It does not explain witchcraft directly, but invites interpretation, allowing the audience to decode its meaning through personal associations rather than explicit instruction.
Brand packaging
Brand Values
1. Nature as Foundation CRADLE uses eco-friendly materials to emphasize a respectful relationship with nature. Within a socio-cultural framework, nature functions as a shared cultural reference point — something familiar, grounding, and widely understood — making the brand approachable even for newcomers to witchcraft.
Brand packaging
2. Mystery Without Fear CRADLE preserves the sense of the unknown through unconventional forms, typography, and visual language. This approach aligns with phenomenological communication, where meaning emerges through experience rather than explanation. The brand does not define what magic is — it lets the user feel it.
Brand packaging and posters
3. Everyday Ritual CRADLE objects are designed to naturally exist in domestic spaces: shelves, desks, bedside tables. Ritual is presented as something quiet, repeatable, and personal. From a socio-cultural perspective, this reframes witchcraft from an «othered» practice into a normalized daily habit, integrated into contemporary life rather than separated from it.
Brand poster
Communication Summary
CRADLE communicates not by persuading, teaching, or explaining, but by creating conditions for meaning. • Semiotic tradition → symbols, materials, and visuals invite decoding • Phenomenological tradition → focus on personal experience and perception • Socio-cultural tradition → witchcraft re-embedded into everyday modern lifeAs a result, CRADLE becomes not just a brand, but a dialogue between object and user, where magic exists at the intersection of the familiar and the unknown.
Presentation of the CRADLE brand for a professional audience
Key branding aspects
Communication Approach and Epistemological Position
CRADLE is constructed within an interpretive paradigm of communication, rather than an objective or positivist one. The brand does not aim to transmit a single, fixed meaning of «witchcraft, ” but instead facilitates meaning negotiation between the brand and its audience.Brand packaging
We prioritize: • understanding over prediction • dialogue over instruction • meaning as context-dependent
CRADLE adopts this logic by designing communication not as information delivery, but as symbolic interaction, where users actively decode and complete the message.
Brand packaging
Semiotic Tradition (Primary)
From a semiotic perspective, CRADLE operates as a system of signs rather than a narrative-driven brand. • Materials function as signs of ethical positioning and ecological awareness • Visual ambiguity prevents fixed denotation and encourages connotation • Typography and form operate symbolically rather than informatively
Meaning is not embedded in the object itself, but emerges during interpretation. This aligns with the semiotic assumption that communication is the sharing of meaning through sign systems, not direct transmission.
Brand packaging
Socio-Cultural Tradition (Structural)
CRADLE treats witchcraft as a social practice reproduced through communication.
By embedding esoteric objects into domestic environments, the brand participates in the reproduction of cultural norms, shifting witchcraft from a marginal ritual practice to an everyday cultural behavior.
Here, communication is understood as: • a producer of social order • a tool for normalization • a mechanism of cultural reframing
The brand thus functions as a cultural mediator rather than a storyteller.
Brand packaging
Phenomenological Tradition (Experiential)
CRADLE acknowledges that experience precedes meaning.
Rather than guiding interpretation through explicit verbal messaging, the brand prioritizes: • sensory engagement • personal ritualization • subjective emotional response
This aligns with phenomenological communication, where meaning is grounded in lived experience and dialogue between self and object, rather than rhetorical persuasion.
How we developed the strategy with the help of the course
The communication strategy of Cradle is grounded in interpretive approaches to communication theory, where meaning is not transmitted directly but emerges through symbols, context, and personal interpretation. The brand does not aim to persuade or instruct explicitly; instead, it creates a communicative space in which the audience constructs meaning autonomously.
Social Identity Theory as the foundation of the general audience concept
The general audience presentation is built around Social Identity Theory, shifting the focus from demographic description to symbolic belonging. Cradle’s objects function as identity markers — not loud declarations, but quiet signals of worldview, sensitivity, and inner alignment.
Rather than describing the consumer, the presentation allows the artifact itself to speak: restrained, ritualistic, attentive. By engaging with the brand, the audience symbolically aligns themselves with a group defined not by rules or ideology, but by shared sensibility — an appreciation for intention, slowness, and symbolic depth.
Interdependence Theory in professional communication
The professional presentation follows the logic of Interdependence Theory, emphasizing expectations, comparison levels, and perceived alternatives. In this context, Cradle’s value proposition is not speed, variety, or volume, but meaningful communicative reward.Commitment to the brand emerges when the experience — visual language, tone, narrative density — meets or exceeds the audience’s internal comparison level. Even in the presence of numerous alternative occult or lifestyle brands, loyalty is sustained because Cradle operates on a different comparative axis: symbolic resonance rather than functional efficiency.
Critical tradition and ideological positioning
The academic reasoning of the project is informed by the critical tradition associated with the Frankfurt School, which examines how meaning, norms, and power structures are embedded in communication.Applied to design, this approach frames visual language as ideologically active, never neutral. Cradle intentionally avoids dominant commercial tropes of esotericism — spectacle, excess symbolism, or commodified mysticism. Instead, the brand offers an alternative discourse: magic as inward, quiet, and non-performative.
Through this positioning, the design subtly questions mainstream representations of spirituality and proposes a different cultural narrative — one where meaning is personal, not standardized.
Equity Theory and the construction of trust
Equity Theory informed the development of the brand’s tone of voice and interaction model. Communication between brand and audience is designed as a balanced exchange, free from manipulation or exaggerated promises.Cradle does not claim authority over the user; instead, it respects the autonomy and interpretive agency of the audience. This perceived fairness — emotional, symbolic, and informational — becomes a key driver of trust and long-term engagement.
Archetypes as cognitive shortcuts
The brand relies on archetypal frameworks aligned with Explorer and Mystic archetypes, functioning as cognitive shortcuts rooted in reference group dynamics. These archetypes allow the audience to recognize themselves through atmosphere and attitude rather than explicit explanation.This strategy reduces communicative density while increasing memorability: recognition precedes rational analysis, and emotional alignment precedes persuasion.
Communication architecture outcome
Together, these theories transform abstract creative intentions into a coherent communication system. The structure explains audience engagement as a staged process: individuals recognize themselves in symbolic forms, interpret meaning through personal benchmarks and alternatives, build trust through perceived fairness and attitudinal similarity, and commit when communication feels resonant, proportional, and culturally meaningful.https://www.smashingmagazine.com/ (used 12.12.2025)
https://www.researchgate.net/ (used 13.12.2025)
https://www.scirp.org/ (used 12.12.2025)
