When Physical Perfection is Not Enough

More than ever today our lives are physically enhanced. Our bodies are cosmetically enhanced, our food is functionally enhanced, our homes are technically enhanced and our communication is digitally enhanced. It’s all about perfection.
   
Physical perfection, of course, is not a new concept. It’s been around for centuries. You only have to look at classical Greek art—civilized man depicted with perfect features all in perfect proportion. In the 20th century, we developed a more futuristic vision of perfection; a science fiction world where technology would rule in an age of superhuman performance and physical empowerment. But in reality we aspire to a more individual kind of perfection
   
The way we see our bodies is constantly evolving. Each generation thinks about it in its own way and has its own questions. Should religion for example, govern the body? Where is the role for freedom and sensuality? Is the mind more important than the body? It’s always about finding the ideal relationship between body, mind and soul.
   
The future is still about physicality—but not as we know it. We are now thinking about our bodies rather differently. There used to be an external ideal of how our bodies should be—part of a bigger picture set by the societal conformism encouraged by the religion, military, government and media of the times. Yet that one-dimensional view of how we should look or behave is giving way to a more individual perspective. The objective body is fast becoming the subjective body.
   
The biggest challenge is to find ways to connect with what people already have. It’s still about perfection—but more about being more perfectly you than something else.
   
And today there isn’t a sense of perfection without being good—we need to feel that we are good—and we are buying into brands that are good. So the desire for perfection has been superseded by the desire to be complete physically, mentally and spiritually. We want to be perfect, we want to be good and we want to be complete—how do we do it and how do brands help us?
   
Brands today certainly understand how to enhance our physical performance—they reduce our wrinkles, lower our cholesterol, give us stamina, keep us lean and slim, give us mobility, pamper us and even feed our soul.
   
But it’s not just about making my body more beautiful or more efficient or healthier. We are looking for more ways to really connect with our body to express who we are. We want to heighten the sense of our own physicality—without being superhuman or super functional. The role of brands can be to make people feel free by enabling self-expression. It doesn’t have to be about perfection when physical perfection is not enough.
   
It is the brands that allow us to use our bodies in the most intuitive and expressive ways that will be desirable in this new era of physicality. And there are a number of brands are beginning to do this. So what does that mean for brand designers? Well, with different types of brands and product categories there is huge opportunity to exploit this more subjective physicality through simple, natural design that takes its inspiration from or for the body and yet fits with their brand truth. It’s about connecting with the body as much as possible we have to see break out of conventions and be as expressive as possible.
   
In a world where luxury perfumes are mass-produced Le Labo fragrances believes there is another solution for the individual, the combination of the best “noses” on the planet to create exceptional fragrances that cause sensory “shocks”. Talk about “fighting the rising tide of conformity”—10 fragrances made by hand, on demand, and in a single location to a packaging design that it is the antithesis of gross over-packaging. Its simple clean lines and modern apothecary graphic style convey the image of individual expertise.
   
Rich Hippie perfume is made using 100% natural and chemical free traditional methods employed by perfumers before World War II and the advent of the subsequent industrialization of the chemical industry influence on mass fragrance production. Rich Hippie perfume is made with “spirits of wine.” Wine alcohol is all-natural and better yet, is made from organically grown grapes harvested from the great wine regions of California. All of the plant and flower extracts used are organic or wild crafted and carefully selected with the utmost attention to quality. Made in very small batches with tremendous care so that it is both safe for our health and for the environment, it is a modern and real luxury experience. The packaging reflects a distinctive, fulsome and mold-breaking graphic style to distance it from the uber-chic conventions of the category.
   
Cowshed taps into the experience of being beautiful and brings out the location where the original experience happens onto the pack creating a holistic and complete experience. Cowshed is a new approach at portraying a beauty range. Stemming from the beauty and tranquility of Babington House, the walled garden picked ingredients are packaged in design reminiscent of the interior of the spa and other Soho House locations. Designed by Pearlfisher, it has an authentically generous, indulgent feel, which recreates that personal experience, and a self-effacing wit that appeals to women of all ages.
   
Waitrose, the UK’s leading high-end retailer, has recently transformed the expertise it had in food and drink into the cosmetic sector. Having established core product ranges that understand the differing needs of women, their new line of facial and body care for men reflects how men in the mainstream are now taking care of themselves. Skin Tools is designed to speak in a more “real” way to men and avoids the “petrol-head” visual clues sported by many other male cosmetic brands. Skin Tools attempts to support the regime of good presentation for men.
   
So what is the future for our bodies? Age, health, sex and beliefs are all factors that influence our mindset and desire to express who we are and what we naturally possess. We want to do what is right for us in a totality and for brands it is about having a view of what you stand for in relation to the human body and we want for our body. The future of the body is the rediscovery of the true self, it is not about simply transforming it, but tapping into what’s already there.
   
Brands play a role to facilitate the expression of who we are, and therefore should focus less on forcing something new on to us all the time but more like tell us how they will help us be who we are now. As for design, great brand designers understand the power of touch, of sensation, of experience, of space, of functionality, of mobility, of technology—these are the tools of our trade—the real challenge is to truly harness the power of physicality to the power of expression. 

About the Author

Jonathan Ford is an award-winning designer and creative partner for Pearlfisher —  a London and New York design consultancy. Pearlfisher’s award winning work in the food, drink and luxury markets includes clients such as LVMH, ABSOLUT Vodka and Unilever. More information: [email protected].