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What’s your skin concern? A logical question coming from renowned dermatologist Dr. Patricia Wexler; and the first one she asks patients.  We decided to use that authority and built this skincare brand around that very question. Developed in partnership with masstige retailer Bath & Body Works (BBW) and Dr. Wexler, “Dermocracy. All skin [re]created equal.” was the umbrella decree for this serious skincare brand.  Our strategy and positioning paper commissioned at the outset by BBW mushroomed into years of a branding partnership for Wexler (and ideating and designing several new brand categories for BBW).

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Who’s on first? Hierarchy of communication matters. Retail giant Bath & Body Works obtains the rights to a cutting-edge, science-based, proven skin care technology.  Dr. Wexler agrees with its thesis and wants her namesake brand to deliver dermatological care to the masses with emphasis on its scientific clinical results, while looking fashionable and modern.  We’re experts on the latter; the challenge is how to tell a complex skin technology story in few words, credential the doctor, note the problem, its solution, the skin type and category (acne, daily care), and navigate the ‘masstige’ consumer. Woah!  That’s a tall order.

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On paper, the brand reads logically top to bottom.  But in execution on package, it demands dissection.  As a means to navigate this information-heavy brand, we created a compartmentalized system of design-blocking that contained everything a consumer needed to know.  Over time, its style actually turns into identifiable brand assets and equity.

  1. Wexler: Ownable. Unique. Name the brand after its authority to reinforce its inherent credential potential.  Hero that name.
  2. Patricia Wexler M.D.–first and last name reinforce informality, accessibility (versus Dr. Wexler Skin Care). Choosing a lower-case font to further reinforce familiarity.
  3. Authentic mocking of her patient’s experience, asking, “What’s your skin concern?”, becomes a trademarked asset on package and in Patricia Wexler’s practice.  Marry it to the answer by skin problem category, i.e. Acne, or Ideal Daily Care.
  4. Name the product by its solution, i.e. Acnostat Acne Spot Treatment, or Universal Anti-Aging Moisturizer.
  5. Create design device lock-ups that navigate features and benefits, and skin type and skin functional category, i.e. Moisturize–dry skin, sensitive, normal, oily, etc.
  6. Problems solved!

what we did. 

-brand strategy and positioning.
-innovation and technology articulation.
-brand identity.
-brand architecture.
-naming and verbal identity.
-package design.
-collateral.
-in-store experience.

 

 

back to work.