Survival of the Fastest: Lifestyles, Beauty & Packaging

As young girls, most of us envisioned our days in the 21st century as a goldenage of near-eternal youth.We would start the day with a skin cream that kept us looking 30 well into our 60s; take a pill that eradicated all disease; eat no-fat, high-tastehamburgers from the food replicator; have the sweet, yet robotic, Jetson’s-like maid takecare of all the day’s errandsandcommute to work in a hovercraft. Technology would be a centralyetunobtrusiveforce in our lives, extendingour lifespan (as well as our looks and well-being). Technology would make day-to-daylife seamless and calmwhilegivingus more time for leisure, family and fun. Our visionof a perpetually youthful lifestylemade possible by technologyhas given way to the reality of what we call “survival of the fastest.” Our fast-paced lifestyle is imbued with technologythatenablesus to seeminglybe connectedto everything and everyoneat any given time. Consequently,we do more becausewe can, and we are processing informationat 400 times the rate of our Renaissance ancestors.

Time is a key issue in our fast-paced culture —finding it, managing it, balancing itand, if we are over 40 (which more than 50% of Americans are), defying it. Accordingto Jennifer James, the cultural anthropologist, in her book, Thinking in the Future Tense, we are currently in a major evolutionarymoment for the human species. We are forcingourselves to evolve more quickly by challenging ourselves to work harder, take higher quality care of our families and ourselves and by processingmore information on less sleep than at any other period in our history. All this and no Rosie the robot to take care of the home!

Brands as Cultural Artifacts

In this fast-paced culture, brands, in addition to fueling the economy, have taken on a more emotional and subliminal role in our lives. Brands have become our myths, fantasies and stories. They are the cultural artifacts that defineour hopes, dreams, aspirations and fears. Like totems of earlier cultures that signified identity and ancestry, brands represent our personal and cultural identities; theyindicate where we have been and where we are going. In an era when we feel like work automatons, brands remind us that we are human.

The most successful brands in this “fast era” harness the power of design to communicate their stories. Target, for example, captures our limited, fractured attention through arefreshing, dynamicuse of its “target” symbol as a beacon for affordable “fun and style.” Apple Computer increaseditsmarket share during the past four years by leveraging the power of design to connect emotionally withconsumers.

The design of the iMac signaled that computing could be a fun, easy, human experience rather than a chore.

Avon’s packaging is no longer an archaic reminder of Aunt Marge living in her 1950s suburban development.Avon’s clean, streamlined and approachable imagery (along with a complete repositioning of the company) has made the brand relevant to women again. The imagery and design for each of these brands continuallygives us moments of pleasure in our time-crunched lives. We pause and take notice. Consequently, designhas taken a priority role in “fast era”marketing.

Design is a primarily visual experience. Eighty percent of human experiences are filtered through our eyes, because 70% of our sensory receptorsare in our eyes. Consequently, design,with its ability to collapseall senses into a primarily visual experienceand evoke sensations of touch, taste, smell and sound, is becoming an importantfoundationfor brand success in the “fast era.” Design can stimulateour senses and reawaken our work weary souls. Its sensory power can reunite us with the rhythms of nature and our own biology, during an era when we often go through our days at the speed of technology.

Four Major Themes

Toniq has identified and tracked four major themes in design that are consistent acrosssuccessful fast era brands. These themes make brands relevant to consumers, forging an emotional connection that lays the foundation for repeat purchase and long-term loyalty. We call these themes E.S.S.O. (empathy, sensory, simplicity and optimism). Here’s a brief description of each:

• Empathy. An understandingof our time-pressedneeds by giving us
convenience or escape.

• Sensory. Tantalizingour senses, therebyconnectingus to our biology, our humanity and to nature.

• Simplicity. Ease, approachability,clarity and focus; also reminiscent of simpler, less complex times.

• Optimism. Upbeat, fun, happy, whimsical, witty and playful.

These E.S.S.O. themes reflect consumer needs, wants and desires. We have found that the majority of successful fast-era brand identities are building their businesses based on one or a combination of these themes.

E.S.S.O is prominently reflected in brands targeted to women, evoking the feminine principle with sensual, organic shapes and textures, as well as lines that flow like the human body. Women are coming into their own in this era of “fast.” There is a new femininity that stretches the traditional female archetypes and celebrates a well-rounded expression of women, as evidenced by Contradic-tion, Truth, Romance and Beautiful fragrances.

In cosmetic and beauty care packaging, Victoria’s Secret’s new Pink fragrance gives us a simple, happy girlhood moment, while Lancôme’sMiracle evokes female empowerment with a bottle design that has strong, solid shoulders but a soft outer curve and a fluid, feminine inner chamber. The tagline, “you make it happen,” and the advertising imagery of dawn rising reinforces the message of quiet strength and the power of feminine aspirations. The duality of female experiences represented by these two brands represents the cultural evolution of femininity.

During the past 20 years, we have seen a dramatic evolution of women’s roles in our culture and, therefore, in the family dynamic. Women are increasing their presence in all aspects of society, including the traditionally masculine provinces of medicine, government, religion, business, media and the law (women now represent the majority of law students in the U.S.), while continuing their role as primary caretakers of home and hearth.

Inner Strength

The 21st century femininity is fueled by inner strength, confidence, sexiness and a celebration of all aspects of “femaleness.” Witness Estée Lauder’s new Intuition fragrance. Female intuition has historically been disregarded as unscientific, but as science and technology run our day-to-day lives, intuition is now regarded as intrinsic to “humanness” and is celebrated as part of the female experience.

Gillette’s new Venus razor reunites us with the rhythms of nature while emboldening women to “celebrate the goddess in you.” Gillette taps a universal female archetype and recasts her as the modern expression of femininity. Venus is born from the sea (the ocean and the waters, as givers of all life, have been symbolic throughout human history of the feminine principle) and Gillette leverages her mythology in an empathetic, sensory, simple and optimistic manner.

The fluid, ergonomic razor handle is reminiscent of a dolphin playing in the waves, while the smooth, translucent blue handle color evokes images of beach glass. The handle’s color and texture further tantalizes the senses by reminding us of sunlight interacting with the sea. The blue, dynamic, V-like graphic of the packaging expresses the optimism of Venus’ emergence from the depths, while also signaling “breaking through” the surface and revealing oneself. Venus is truly a breakthrough in female shaving; it is the first triple blade razor for women and it is specifically designed to maneuver the curves of the female body, allowing women to reveal their inherent beauty.

So while we are moving through our 21st century lives at the speed of technology, brands which practice the inherently human E.S.S.O. premise are making things easier; enabling us to go faster or to downshift and most importantly, making us feel good. And maybe that’s better than looking like we’re 30 forever!