The packaging of the fragrance called Support Scent has the name of the product printed in Braille and infused with the fragrance, so that it is easy for vision-impaired people to determine the scent among other products.

Convenient Truth

An eco-conscience is now integral to brand design, and from the consumer viewpoint, nowhere is this more poignant than when it comes to the issue of convenience.

By Jonathan Ford, Pearlfisher

This time last year, we addressed the increasing need for beauty brands to make their offers convenient to meet the needs of our 24/7 lifestyle. We also discussed the fact that in sectors such as beauty—where the aesthetic is everything— functional and convenient need to be successfully married with an indulgent and seductive brand persona. Function is a given, glamour is all-important. There is no doubt that brands have taken up this design approach, and we are seeing new products that have a more creative and personal connection. But the definition of convenience and connection is once again in transition and evolving in many different directions. How do we now deconstruct and redefine convenience?

Cute and Compact

Let’s go back a step. Life-on-the-go is now the norm. But with holiday travel plans being made, convenience becomes even more front of mind, and more new products are launching. Clinique’s High Shine-to-Go Glosswear Set is a “wardrobe” of 12 mini glosses for choice wherever and whenever. It’s

Aveda’s reusable lipstick tube can be refilled 12 times before replacing.

enviably cute and compact and while the “wardrobe” will serve the purpose for the duration of the life of the products, the packaging itself is not integral to the product offer and is ultimately throwaway. And, just as in food and drink, disposability and waste is a definite brand black mark. An eco-conscience is now integral to brand design, and from the consumer viewpoint, nowhere is this more poignant than when it comes to the issue of convenience.

While, for the most part, we have shifted our mindset overall to be more green when it comes to recycling, we also need to better embrace the processes of re-using and re-filling just as other sectors are doing. There are currently only a handful of brands that are doing this. Aveda has refillable compacts, and is probably the first to offer the reusable lipstick tube that can be refilled 12 times before replacing.

Aveda is often the trailblazer when it comes to good and green design solutions on a practical and structural level. But, they also understand that the emotional factor—and response—is just as important, and we now need to look at ways to keep our “convenient” brands and products covetable and collectable. By taking a more holistically creative approach, we should be able to provide a unique and targeted consumer experience or connection, time and time again. Convenience does not need to be about brevity and can most definitely be about brand longevity and desirability.


Covetable and Collectable

Probably the sector of the beauty market that we think of as most collectable and enduring is perfume but, conversely, perfume is one of the worst culprits when it comes to unnecessary and excessive packaging and waste. Solid, petite and rollerball perfumes are still popular but it’s also about convenient, connected, covetable and collectable beauty at home.

Thierry Mugler has just launched a new fragrance, Womanity, a made-up word meant to associate with femininity, humanity and city. The bold pink bottle decorated in Art Deco style represents the vagaries of the female personality where strong meets tender. The bottle is refillable, and much less cardboard is used for the packaging than usual.

EDUN is one of the most desirable fashion brands of the moment: from the kudos attached to its celeb owners [Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson—and now under the wing of LVMH], its mission to help build Africa as a viable source of production for fashion and the exquisite and unique nature of its garments. Now, for the first time, EDUN is entering the cosmetic arena with the EDUN for Sephora eye-and-face palette.

The palette of allergen and talcum-free mineral colors in synergistic earth and ochre shades are presented in a plain (except for the brand name) wooden box with a sliding lid reminiscent of a cellphone. The secondary packaging is a cotton pouch (made in Kampala, Uganda) intended to also double as an MP3 holder. The sales blurb states that $3 from every sale will go to the Wildlife Conservation Society, to fund activities of the Conservation Cotton Initiative in Uganda. It is true to the values and heritage of the master brand; the Sephora name ensures quality of product; and EDUN ensures quality of ethics and style. The unique primary and secondary packaging perfectly brings together the craft of the natural world with the contemporary, technological world. And this is a perfect reference point from which to look at convenience in the context of commitment to purpose and craftsmanship.

Commitment and Craftsmanship

Clemenger BBDO Melbourne created a fragrance as the key element of a charity marketing campaign for people who can’t see. The main idea of the Guide Dogs Australia project was to develop something that would be easy to be noticed by all people including the blind and vision impaired. So, smell was employed as the basis for the campaign.

The new scent was created with the help of Kit Cosmetics. The packaging of the fragrance, called Support Scent, has the name of the product printed in Braille and infused with the fragrance, so that it is easy for blind people to determine the scent among other products. It is bold and strong and, above all, beautifully crafted with a sense of the bespoke.

Sticking with fragrance, Shigenobu Twilight by NY artist Anicka Yi and architect Maggie Peng uses three different notes of cedar wood in its composition. The packaging is made of raw cedar wood, and each bottle is uniquely hand-cut by the creators in architectural geometry.

And although not on shelf, I would like to mention a fragrance concept by Canadian student designer Melissa Cullens. A variation on the solid perfume structure, the Bloom bottle is designed to fit in the palm of the hand, and slides open by the motion of the thumb. Its form is reminiscent of a seed with curves inspired by the human body. The fragrance well can be interchanged, so that the bottle itself can be used over and over as tastes and the seasons change. Both Bloom and Shigenobu Twilight are providing a totally unique, personal, tactile and holistic brand experience.

Creative Experience and Expectation

Above all, the onus for brands is finding more personal concentrated experiences that involve, engage and inspire us by focusing us on the texture, look and delivery of what we are buying and using.

The new U tampon liners and pads’ packaging design by Kotex looks like it belongs in the cosmetic aisles.

A little bit left-field maybe, but a timely example to finish on, the new U tampon liners and pads’ packaging design by Kotex for 14-22 year old girls, already looks like it belongs in the cosmetic aisles, and this is exactly where the brand owners ultimately hope they will also be able to sell it.

The line’s black packaging, accented with bright colors, signals a revolution in feminine care and presents an image that is sleek, upscale and bold with every aspect of the package designed to be an experience. Back of pack copy utilizes 60 to 70 different playful and fun myths and facts to help educate girls about feminine health. The tampon is also merchandized with reusable tin containers that come in 56 different patterns for taking products on-the-go. The reusable tins are almost completely unbranded (except for a small logo on the back of the tin) to allow for complete discretion.

As we move into the future, we are redefining convenience and need to use design to find new and creative ways to deliver something disproportionate to the expectation—moving from pure convenience to connection, consciousness, craftsmanship, commitment and creativity.