Express yourself. There is a definite call to action right now with brands holding competitions for consumers to create their own brand designs. Check out the Umbro Speciali Customisation Competition or the DEWmocracy Designs Contest... The level of entry is quite fantastic and there is some very sharp untapped – read potential – design talent out there.
I don’t want to get into the whole debate about the value we place on design and on ourselves as creators. But, think that what this really highlights is the need to push the boundaries to create yet more truly bespoke brand solutions. And the visual communication is becoming even more important as a way of creating stand-out and communicating the difference, the innovation – and the all-important ‘you’ factor.
Although the beauty sector already operates on a micro-market level addressing a variety of specific problems, new hair care brand Her Cut is truly revolutionary. It doesn’t just look at dull, lifeless hair or a greasy roots problem but boldly takes the step to redefine hair care by working with the form, shape and movement of personal hairstyles — whether you need ‘The Bob Catalyst’ or ‘The Blunt Catalyst’ to name just two in the range…According to the blurb, every formula utilizes cut-specific polymers to deliver the specific styling benefits each cut needs to look its best i.e. With shag haircuts having 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. It is personal and stylized but in no way prescriptive…
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, we want solutions but we want the brand to not be afraid to be visually engaging, interactive and intimate in a way that’s totally different to what’s gone before.
Competitions do play a part in engaging the consumer and understanding their creative motivations but can only ever really be a short-term initiative. On a long-term basis it is up to the brand and design teams to form new, evolving and pertinent expressions of the brand through a unique but comprehensive visual rhetoric to show that we are living in a new age with a truly new – and highly individual – influence.