Case Study: Pure Skin Envy
UX Design & Research, Brand & Product Design
Software: Figma, Photoshop, Canva, Shopify
Introduction
Leading the creative team through customer experience and journey mapping; my responsibilities were to plan and execute a system that met business goals effectively and timely. In late 2020 we kicked off the project with the end-of-year goal to launch the company with a strong brand image. Some of the big projects included, creating logos, websites, creative advertisements, UX mapping of customer journeys and setting up effective marketing campaign strategies.
Branding Goals
The main challenge when approaching this upcoming business was finding a target audience that these products would resonate with. Finding, understanding and communicating to the right people to modernize a product that hit the peak of its fad several years ago. Not only connecting to a specific demographic of people but being able to tell a story that felt authentic and grounded compared to the saturated big brand cosmetic competitors.
Who & What?
“Our story? At Pure Skin Envy our team is like our little family, just a small company with a simple goal, giving you skin to boast about. Based in Toronto Ontario we stumbled not knowing how to go about starting a business from the ground up, BUT we were always sure of one thing, solving everyday skin problems in the simplest most natural way possible. Our company was created on the foundation of clean natural ingredients, simple solutions and quality products to help you be your best self. With our big ambitions we hope to be your ‘Mother Natures’ touch in a brand you can trust and feel connected as another member of our family. In such a saturated cosmetic market it's time we cut out the confusion, the chemicals, and cheating you from great quality products.”
Pure Skin Envy is a small Toronto based start up company specializing in body & face scrubs. Their first line of products are an improved coffee scrub recipe with added skin benefits that come in 3 distinct scents. My role at this company was to devise a user experience roadmap and create visual content to digitally market, visually design and brand design their foundation.
Research
As a company starting from scratch the main objectives were to find a core audience, build a reputation and communicate a brand image. In order to even start to understand how to go about reaching an end goal or even the official launch; the creative team and I needed a strategy to break down each process of the journey.
Communication is Key
The first step of the process was to understand consumer behaviours, interests, frustrations and desires; regarding the skincare industry. To craft a meaningful customer journey I conducted user interviews over a one week time period in order to synthesize data. After primary research collection I was able to create 2 user personas to narrow in a target audience. Below are the questionnaire, results and persona sheets
click to enlarge any of the pictures.
The initial research phase outlined key attributes about how customers research, shop and interact with branded products. The first speed bump we encountered was that the products offered by Pure Skin Envy were in low demand and awareness. All but one participant have previously tried coffee scrubs while the rest have had no knowledge or experience with these types of scrubs at all.
With this knowledge I had devised an outline to find people willing to interact with our brand with the added insights of the user personas and target core audience Pure Skin Envy wanted to build. Creating this campaign would see that Pure Skin Envy would have a means to prove themselves in return receiving real feedback, testimonials, insights and social media traction before the company had even launched. The campaign to seek growth opportunities had a timeframe of about 2 weeks.
The digital marketing campaign consisted of advertising creatives, brand copywriting, email marketing, social media presence and most importantly website creation.
Competitor Analysis
Neutrogena: With the highest brand recognition and competitive pricing this company has made its way to becoming a household name. Neutrogena products can be found almost anywhere aided with loads of marketing campaigns and attractive packaging. However, the biggest issue this company faces is their reputation. Amongst the interview participants and online reviews, the products offered by this brand have low satisfaction scores and misleading promises which in turn has driven customers away. In turn their future prospects and brand esteem have suffered regardless of their well known presence in the skincare industry.
The Ordinary: The modern and trendy new kid on the block. The Ordinary is known for their extensive line of specific skincare products and an image that justify their prices. Although not the cheapest option, their brand reputation and product reliability has boosted their esteem to keep customers coming back for more. One of the biggest appeals is their brand and packaging aesthetic. People are drawn to the minimal chic look providing a sense of luxury and exclusivity to their circle of customers.
Sephora: The most popular cosmetic stop for any makeup lover. One of the biggest influences Sephora has in the skincare industry is their customer review forums and outlets. With online reviews being so readily available and with the power to make or break companies, Sephora’s system is a true powerhouse of reliable user to user information.
International Brands: With Korean skincare taking over the internet the esteem of high end international brands play a big part in the market today. Internet reviews, testimonials and social media presence play a big part of brand awareness. Before customers can commit to foreign products they need to be sure they work for what their needs are. The power of online reviews and testimonials plays a big part in how our creative team develops the advertising campaign strategy.
Key Findings & Moving Forward
Gathering all the information thus far has given me a much better idea of how information is shared, gathered and evaluated in order to translate that information to help grow our business strategies. This helped me brainstorm ideas for structures to enhance the designs creatives and brand voice.
Design Process
It all began with the logo design. Working with my client we discussed the overall brand image and aesthetic we wanted to achieve. We discussed the type of appeal, tone, and style of the brand moving forward. The client leaned toward chic minimalistic designs inspired by the approach of The Ordinary. The tone set was to give the impression that the brand was reputable and trustworthy if it matched a high end luxury appeal. After mocking up a few logo designs with colour we decided to set the style for a black and white minimal look and came up with this final iteration.
Understanding the stylistic choices moving forward helped guide design choices when it came to brand voice, packaging and digital advertising. With certain limitations on packaging type we worked with what we had. Instead of mimicking a coffee bag aesthetic or using a big typeface similar to other coffee scrub brands in the market, the goal was to create something unique and modernized. Sticking with the black and white theme we decided to add splashes of colour in order to make the products more vibrant and stick out on digital and physical shelves. Through customer insights and interviews we were able to understand what types of packaging appeal to shoppers and how to get their attention. Taking into account that overall packaging aesthetic was more powerful than the copy and content we used this to our advantage.
Now it was time to set up shop. My client had already decided to use the Shopify platform to make online selling easier. The limitation was building a website through the guidelines of the platform. Using core UX principles I was able to make a clean, accessible layout that conveyed all necessary information without user confusion. With some additional coding I was able to implement tweaks and changes in order to properly bring to life our online vision. I was responsible for layout design, content and copywriting.
After all the final designs were completed and all the content we needed was ready to go it was time to prepare for launch day. Testing the market and preparing for sales came with a lot of trial and error but allowed the business to get comfortable in a foreign digital space. Allowing the awareness campaign to grow allowed the team and I to come up with monthly content calendars to plan special events to gain more traction and allow the business to take off. This ongoing project has still much growth to see but has started with strong design foundations, always keeping the customers needs and interests in mind.
Learning Outcomes
Finding a Niche: With any business the importance of finding the right customers is crucial to success. Creating user flows, mind maps and experiences for people not interested in your product or service can be a devastating blow to your time and effort. Throughout this process I have struggled to produce results that I wanted and found myself going back to the drawing board to tweak and change attributes in order to find a fit. This process has taught me more on how powerful imagery and copywriting is in communicating even to the right people.
Trusting the Process: Nothing ever goes completely as planned even with the most detailed of plans. I have learned the importance of patience and perseverance when taking on big projects. Oftentimes it is not uncommon to want to cut corners or rush the process when you are so eager for quick easy success. However, success comes with patience and the right mindset. Allowing necessary time to flesh out a strategy or campaign and letting it take its course is one of the key lessons I took away. Allow things to grow and trust they will work if you take the right steps.