All About Me

New challenger brands are changing the market by moving away from the collective to focus on the individual.

By Jonathan Ford, Pearlfisher

For some time, we have been saying that brands need to buy into the fact that the consumer wants to be treated as an individual and provided with more personal, specifically tailored beauty solutions. This is not an easy demand to comply with when most brands are also looking to hold a profitable mass-market position, which, ergo, means attracting the collective. Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands have long been playing what we term the “hyper-generalized” marketing game, and some beauty brands—such as Dove with its promise of “beauty for all”—have followed suit. But, we are finally seeing brands boldly breaking through to now go one step further and provide truly bespoke solutions and the means for self-expression. However, even if the product is great, that’s really only half the job. The visual communication is becoming even more important as a way of creating standout packaging and communicating the difference, the innovation—and the all-important “you” factor.

Whoever, Whatever, Whenever

Due to her pedigree as the woman behind the gorgeous Bare Escentuals brand, we have eagerly
anticipated Leslie Blodgett’s new offer—Leslie Blodgett Perfume Diaries.

Blodgett has created limited edition scents with each one inspired by a page of her personal diary: “Every note is a memory. Every spritz is an experience.” You can’t knock the sentiments behind this, and it is a different take on creating and marketing a bespoke fragrance. But, it still remains someone else’s self-expression and sensory experience, so I’m not sure just how well this will work and whom it will attract or inspire. Someone who wants to self-express, but doesn’t really have the courage to carve their own path? In trying to be something to everyone, the brand has, somewhat ironically, moved from wanting to be a highly personal offer to the other extreme and become a very generic offer. And, unfortunately, the same can be said of the design.

The eau de parfum bottle features a backdrop of a page of handwritten script, alluding
to a written memory torn from Blodgett’s diary. The design approach is simple, considered, sensuous and fluid as per the product it is selling, but the visual messaging is predictable and, for such a usually groundbreaking and thought-leader category, in no way pushes the creative element far enough to reflect the product innovation behind it. Similarly, the Bare Skin Solid Perfume takes the form of a pocket watch that, yes, evokes nostalgia and a sense of time and memory, but is little different in form or detail from the many perfume rings currently available.

Dashing Diva’s nail designs allow you to turn your hands and feet into a true form of self-expression with elements such as skulls, diamonds and hearts.

The nail sector has certainly made its mark on the beauty shelves in the past few years, moving from just a color story to one about shape and design. Not only is Dashing Diva one of the first international nail spa chains, but it now sells collections of its nail designs for Design Nails on the Go. Yes, it is a very defined style, but the whole premise of the brand is about turning your hands and feet into a true form of self-expression with elements such as skulls, diamonds and hearts. The packaging design is chic and classy, but deliberately pared down, allowing the consumer to interact on a personal level and bestow their own level of meaning and engagement from first touch with the brand through to the product itself.

Just Me, Myself and I

On a micro market level, we have seen the advent—and acceptance rather than stigmatization—of more beauty gadgets and specific skin solution products for problems such as dark circles, hyperpigmentation and excessive oiliness. And, more important, these products are accepted in the beauty lineup. Not only are they needed and wanted, but, by and large, are beautifully designed with their message visually conveyed in a fun and empathetic rather than a finger-pointing way.

First Aid Beauty—or FAB, its succinct and clever abbreviation—is one such new brand, formulated to help skin problems such as rosacea or dermatitis. It has cleverly aimed for the middle ground with the more serious doctor brands at one end and the luxe lines at the other. This is luxury in its own right, but is drawing on the efficacy of the pharmacy and its quick-fix solution heritage, which is reflected in the structures and graphics, equally attractive to men or women, to young or old. The design of its Ultra Repair Cream, for example, is simple but fun, and highly reminiscent of a household multi-purpose cleaner that just does what it says on the tin. (For more on FAB, please go to nitesh_bp.rodpub.com/articles/2009 /12/new-directions-in-packaging-innovation.)

It’s about finding the balance between solution and emotion and using design to impart selected information in a defined but personable way. And this is the crux of the matter: We want solutions, but we don’t want the brand to be afraid of being visually engaging, interactive and intimate in a way that’s different than what’s been done before.

All About Me

Her Cut’s packaging is personal and stylized, but in no way prescriptive.

Her Cut is a truly revolutionary new brand that is not just addressing dull, lifeless hair, a lack of volume or a greasy roots problem, but boldly taking the step to redefine hair care by working with the form, shape and movement of personal hairstyles—whether you need a Long Layers Catalyst, The Bob Catalyst, The Blunt Catalyst or The Pixie Catalyst, to name just a few in the range. According to the brand’s blurb, every formula utilizes cut-specific polymers to deliver the specific styling benefits each cut needs to look its best—such as providing shag haircuts with the separation, depth and dimension they deserve.

Her Cut has taken niche marketing one step further and cleverly uses a fairly specific brand name and then a more specific product name to target. The design has something of a retro feel through both the typography and the way the illustrations are reproduced. This is a totally new breakthrough for this sector although certain niche cosmetic brands—namely Napoleon Perdis—have successfully adopted
this style. It is personal and stylized, but in no way prescriptive.

Absolution, a small but perfectly formed unisex skin care range from Paris, is another notable newcomer. Structurally, the focus is on a uniform and simple practicality, with each product providing a cream and a solution to be mixed together on the jar’s innovative plate dispenser for a truly bespoke skin preparation. The monochrome packaging perfectly sums up the targeting of opposites—and the overall “absolution” and no excess message—while the highly individual sketchbook-style etchings relate to the target and composition of each product. The distinctive drawing style highlights both the individual and collective nature of the products in the range.

Absolution completely embraces the ethos that all brand design today needs to heed: a move away from over-the-top and abstract packaging to a promotion of the individual (brand and product) through pertinent and simple, but uniquely beautiful, design.

Stand Up for Yourself—and Stand Out

These new challenger brands are really changing the market by moving away from the consistent, the constricting and the codes, to focus on diversity, openness, originality and the truly personal. Challengers have a clear purpose to bring about change—and with design being the living embodiment of change—this is where the opportunity lies for brands to now match visionary brand propositions with truly creative identities and challenging design. These brands talk to the individual through a unique but comprehensive visual rhetoric and show that we are living in a new age with a truly new—and highly individual—influence.