TESS
When we first met with TESS, they had little to show but great passion and a promising concept for a skin care line made especially for teens. With only a couple of products developed, TESS needed to establish every part of their branding — beginning with a thorough understanding of the teen female market. As mothers of teen girls, the founders of TESS lent personal experience and understanding of this age group as a launching point, but needed our help in developing a targeted strategy to effectively communicate to this enigmatic audience.INDUSTRY
- HEALTH & BEAUTY
SERVICES
- BRAND DEVELOPMENT
- PACKAGING
- PHOTOGRAPHY
- SPACE DESIGN
- WEBSITE
Strategy: Brand Positioning
In our brand positioning, individuality and self-esteem became key brand expression points and informed how we would communicate to the TESS girl. The naming had to reflect the differences in strength in the products with a personality that connected to the sophisticated teen girl. Two main naming solutions were explored, one reflecting the honesty of the product and brand, and the other playing off the 24-hour-a-day product system with a clever “to-do list” concept.
Identity: Logo Exploration
Because the identity had to be flexible enough to accommodate a wide range of products with varying components and sizes — we explored a range of word mark logo solutions that would be versatile enough to exist in all applications. Accompanying stationery included a clean, modern, and honest design that directly mirrored the core brand messages. A series of positive affirmations was developed and applied as a secondary branding element on the back of the system, reinforcing the self-esteem boosting messages in a stream-of-consciousness execution.
Packaging: Component Exploration
Our component exploration included the shapes and materials of the bottles and exterior packaging solutions that provided mobility and ease of use for the on-the-go teen girl. Our design exploration ranged from all-typographic for an educational tone, to bold color to visually express the scents, to illustrative collage inspired by a teen girl’s bedroom. All the design solutions enhanced the established brand identity and spoke clearly and directly to the teen audience.
Packaging: The TESS Line
The final TESS packaging was a balance between expressive colors, playful product names, and a strong educational narrative. A clean, fruit-inspired color palette brought the bold scents of the product from the inside to the outside and created strong merchandising possibilities. A running narrative of positive affirmations reminded teens to embrace their individuality and created an interactive experience as the product was used.
Winner, American Package Design Awards + Print’s Regional Design Competition
Published, CPC Magazine, Package Design Magazine, + Package Design Magazine
POP: Product Display
To help TESS sell their product, they needed an eye-catching and informative display to promote their new brand to buyers. The solution included coding each shelf by skin type and color for visual impact and clear user navigation. The clean shelf organization was coupled with informative graphics that communicated product benefits and aspirational lifestyle to the consumer.
Digital Media: Website
TESS needed a sophisticated website to appeal to teens — the most web-savvy market segment out there. The solution featured lifestyle photography depicting natural, expressive, individual, and most importantly “real” teen girls. TESS branding elements including the self-esteem affirmations, kit icon, and bold color palette.
