Chick part 2 | Judelicea

Creating Designs that Reflects Chick's Branding Values

Chick Skincare Products

Overview :

With an established mission statement and core values I had the foundation for my designs. By brainstorming with sketches on index cards, I gathered multiple ideas for the logo. These ideas expanded through digitization on Adobe Illustrator where I also explored typography. To ensure these logos were desirable, I gathered user feedback from my peers.

Using A/B testing, I iterated and finalized the company logo. I moved onto designing the product packaging following the same design process. During this phase I faced an issue with brand and logo alignment and reassessed the logo, while also prototyping the product boxes through cardstock models. After taking in feedback from users, I finalized three final product packaging. My designs resulted in Chick establishing its entire brand identity and product line, securing $5K in venture competitions and a $60K investment, while positioning the company for pre-launch."

My Roles

Graphic Designer
Design Strategist
Product Designer
Web Designer
User Researcher

Methods and Skills

Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator
Figma and FigJam
User Interviews
A/B Testing
Brand Establishment
Design Strategy

Timeline

6 weeks (Part 2)

Highlights.

The Problem

Consumers lack a skincare product that protects the skin microbiome and honestly communicates their science, ingredients, and company goals, making it difficult for them to make confident and informed purchasing decisions

Guiding
Question

How can we establish a skincare brand that emphasizes transparency and communicates the effectiveness of probiotic formulas for healthy skin?

The
Solution

Create robust branding and product packing that informs consumers of the benefits of probiotic skincare and reflects the company's commitments to boldness, science, transparency, and authenticity.

Brand Development and Ideation

Chick Branding is Up-Front, Fun, and Elegant.

Product Inspiration

Fun Like Sun Bum, Bold Like RXBars, Transparent Like Ordinary.

Logo Ideation

Toeing the Line Between Fun Boldness and Elegant Skincare.

Based on user interviews, consumers prefer a simple and elegant company. This came as a challenge, as I wanted our company to be up-front and bold in presenting itself while also clearly being a skincare company. I needed to find a way to balance the bold and the elegant.

First I wanted to explore the logo icon and make it appealing to young adults but also simple enough to seem chic. I started exploring these ideas through sketches.

Brainstorming Through Sketches

Every Good Idea Starts with a Sketch.

I sketched on index cards and had the core values of the company in mind while letting my pen go to work. Down below I have shown just four of maybe 30 index cards. Each of these cards contained a final iteration considered for the final logo.

Transfering Logo Sketches to Adobe Illustrastor

Digitizing is Where the Magic Happens .

Using my sketches from the index cards, I started to design each potential idea into a big file. Seeing these designs on the screen allowed me to assess them accurately and decide which ones should be considered to move on.

I ended up making more digital designs than sketches but condensed them to one page as you can see below.

I tried many styles here, all focusing on the values of the company we had established. The designs that I liked the most seemed to align with more than one core value. While designing these, I wanted to ensure still that we communicated that we were a skincare company, which typically means simple and elegant. I knew that the typography combined with these logos could help communicate our goals and products to users.

Exploring Typograhphy for Logo

Time to Bring in the Words.

While exploring various fonts, I wanted to pick eye-catching but chic typefaces. Skincare companies typically have fancy lettering and only contain letters; I wanted Chick to have both. I wanted to create a juxtaposition, where we had an icon that seemed personable and fun but also had typography that communicated that we are both honest and distinct looking.

Like the icon logo, I gathered a variety of fonts that I thought had potential and could pair with the other logos. While looking through Adobe fonts, I searched for san-erif fonts that were clean and thin. Sans-serif fonts appear pristine and modern, which matches Chick's innovative formula. I also searched for a narrow-kerning as it signals quality and appears sleek. Lastly, I wanted a thin stroked font, as it comes across as gentle, yet eye-catching, which aligns with Chick's use of organic ingredients and gentle formula. While searching, I also added fonts that might not exactly match my inclusion criteria but still felt applicable.

I grouped them together in one illustrator file, which you can see below.

Seek Out Feedback and Consumer Input

But I Don't Know If I'm Doing it Right.

Now with a landscape of logos and fonts, I needed to figure out which were the most desirable and appealing for consumers. I had hunches on which ones would succeed, but I'm not sure if the design I picked seemed attractive to buyers. I knew at this point that I wanted people to pick the independent icons and fonts that seemed most intriguing to them. Once I know which design elements seem most successful, I can combine the font and icon to create a complete logo. From there Ii can assess if it aligns with the company's goals and values.

Prototyping Round 1 - Logo

Consumers Picked the Logo, Not Me.

User Feedback on Logo Icon

People Like Simple and Personable Logos.

With my illustrator file full of icons, I started getting input from young adults who were in my shared workspace, many of whom matched our target archetypes. I would give them my computer and ask them to pick their three favorites from the big list of icons. Before showing them, I would tell them that Chick is a "probiotic skincare company" to give them context. From here I would keep a list of the frequency a logo was picked. Below is an example of eight user inputs, where each row represents the three icon choices they picked.

Users Favored Three Designs

After asking about 30 people for their input, I tallied each of the logos that were picked. The three down below had the highest frequency of being picked.

Each of these icons were simple, yet personable. I stopped here before seeking more feedback as I wanted a typeface that went with the icon. Getting feedback on which font and icon go together is more insightful than just picking each independently.

User Feedback on Logo Font

Sleek and Eye-catching Fonts Wins.

After conducting my first round of feedback, I realized that I could adjust the method of asking users. People can get overwhelmed by seeing so many options, which could lead to inaccurate decision-making of which fonts they prefer. To avoid this, I split up the large file of fonts into groups of four.

When I presented each group I would ask the user to use the process of elimination. For each box, I would tell them to first eliminate three fonts by dragging them off the screen, then pick two more to eliminate until one remained.

After completing this for each of the groups, there would be four fonts remaining. I would ask them to eliminate one more font, which would leave me with three final fonts.

Example of Fonts Before Feedback

Example of Final Fonts Selected By Users

This method of receiving user feedback was a bit more time-consuming, but it made the process easier for the users to give me their thoughts. Without feeling overwhelmed, users can make more accurate decisions that truly reflect their preferences. With every font removed, their focus on preferences narrowed, allowing me to understand which font is more appealing to them as a consumer, which can ultimately improve sales.

I followed the same process as I did for the icons, and tracked how many times a particular font was selected within the three choices. This left me with the three fonts down below.

These fonts are similar in many ways and appear sleek and unique. They each could be used for a skincare brand and would look great on packaging. With three fonts and three icons, I needed to get started on combing them.

Finalizing the Company Logo

The Almost Perfect Combination.

Finding the best combination between the font and icon is a difficult task, but I wanted to hear from the consumers. I can only guide this process, as it's the stakeholders who make the final decisions. For this final selection, I used FigJam boards to support the process.

Users were presented with a bank on the FigJam board. I asked users to combine each icon with a font that best matched each other. Then, they had to rank the combinations. The users were not allowed to reuse any font or logo, each combination had to be unique.

I conducted this by giving the users my computer so they were free to try each combination freely before making their final decisions. Down below is the bank and an example of a user response.

Bank of Fonts and Icons

Exmaple User Rankign Response

These user interviews allowed consumers to freely pick their choices. I made sure to step away and not look at them while they were responding to avoid any demand characteristics. After conducting about 30 of these rankings, it was clear which combination had the most first-place rankings.

Based on the user feedback we landed on this final logo. I was excited at first and I thought that it aligned with our company values and goals, but for some reason, I wasn't satisfied...

Reassessing the Logo

Something is Off. . .

After working on packaging for a week, I realized that our logo wasn't aligned with a key aspect of our company: our bold personality. The font wasn't providing this personality so I started rethinking the font choices.

Along with this, I don't think the method I used was the best method to ask users about their thoughts on the logo. My main concern was that consumers would see this logo on an actual product, not just a FigJam board. Adding some context would be extremely helpful for the user in making their decision.

To do this, I took many of the same fonts picked early, and made them thicker and bolder. In Illustrator I made a mockup of what the front of our packaging could look like and only changed the logo. From here I printed out each prototype and moved around the office and asked the target consumers.

I would ask them to eliminate two, and then rank the last three. These rankings were kept on the back of each piece of paper to ensure I didn't make mistakes in Excel.

Note: This was not the Final Tally Mark

Users told me that the packaging context helped them make their logo preference decisions. People's choices changed after adding in the bold lettering and other design aspects. In the end, the bold font won, and it felt much more aligned with Chick's branding values.

The Final Logo

Users Chose a Balance Between Bold and Elegant.

Looking at the results, it was clear this font won. I took this from the Forma DJR Banner font family, which is the same font as the last logo selected, but just bold.

This logo reflects Chick's values as the typography is narrow, bold, and modern. It is bold and eye-catching, yet has qualities that make it seem like a skincare brand.

The icon also provides personality to the logo, while also showing the qualities of trust and honesty through the simplicity of the vector image. There is a juxtaposition of bold font and a relaxed icon.

These qualities reflect Chick's balance between fun and scientific. It appears both bold and elegant, which can target our intended audience. My founders were ecstatic about the logo and believed it aligned with their company and values.

Prototyping Round 2 - Packaging

Fun and Informative Packaging Takes the Cake .

Packaging Ideation

Packaging Should Brings Out the Company's Personality

With our packaging, I wanted the content to be straightforward but also fun. The packaging should bring out the personality of the company and have designs that are eye-catching, but not overwhelming to the point where consumers thought our product was illegitimate.

Our company emphasizes transparency, which means that each panel should be bold, concise, and informative. With my first designs, I knew I wanted to somehow communicate to consumers that the product is probiotic, without even needing to read the content on the package. I'm a huge fan of pattern designs, so I blended my style with bacteria, as this is the main differentiating factor of Chick.

To start this complex task, I started by finding dielines of boxes on the Pacdora website. I checked in with the founders and made sure the box was the correct shape and size for the facemasks. I imported these declines into Adobe Illustrator and started exploring different options. Keep in mind that I haven't reassessed the logo at the beginning of the packaging development, which is why the logo is different here.

My initial designs were exploring the patterns of bacteria and the placement of text on the front of the package. I liked the upfront texts with the period, as it was direct and communicated with the buyer the most important factors of the products.

The bacteria pattern is catching and signals the use of bacteria in the product. something was off though, it was maybe a little too bold. The design was taking away from the actual text of the product, which is more important for consumers to look at. I kept iterating on this and came up with this.

I changed the bacteria pattern so there is no fill and the strokes are evenly space-spaced dots. This is easier on the eye and allows consumers to focus on the text, while still being captivating. The color palette on the left was not working, but I kept trying and ended up with the example on the right.

The colors should be alluring but not over the top. I thought the colors of the box don't he right were a good start as blue symbolizes trust and cleanliness. The orange is playful and pulls consumers to the product to read.

I also decided on a body font to be used on the packing, which is Myriad Pro. This font is clean and simple and gives off a scientific feeling. For the bold words, I used Adelphi PE which is thick and aggressive. There is a balance here, gentle body text, and harsh header font to grab people's attention.

It was here that I began to notice something was off. I realized that the logo's font wasn't bold, and needed to be reassessed which was discussed earlier. The box had to be changed since the box had to be opened from the top, not from its side. I changed the design to focus more on the text rather than the logo, which was done by moving up the text and putting the Chick icon on the top.

To set up the user feedback, I made all the designs have the same front panel and color with only the logo being different. Down below are two examples.

After getting feedback on the logo, we switched to a font that is more thick and bold. With this established, I moved on to adding the rest of the text to the boxes. With the new text boxes, I wanted to use witty and aggressive headers for each section. Chick is authentic and honest, which means are boxes should act the same when communicating information to our customers.

I wanted each section to have a little graphic to keep the section visually appealing. Leading with the science and origin of the company creates a relationship with the consumer; it's clear why the company started, and how the product is made. Designs are a way to build trust with users, and I wanted to be transparent so consumers understand that Chick is genuine and honest.

Prototyping High-fidelity Designs

Colors Matter.

The founders and I edited and finalized the wording of each section, and decided to not edit due to time constraints. Instead, we focused on the color palette. I wanted each color to be distinct yet resemble a skincare product.

In the end, there were six boxes with different palettes. I knew that I couldn't make a final decision and color is one of the most important factors that go into the appearance of a product. For this, I looked to our target audience and asked for their input. I folded one of the boxes into a flimsy prototype of the box while I presented a printed-out version of the boxes. I followed the same process of elimination, where users eliminated three options, and then ranked the final three designs.

I gathered feedback but soon realized that the data was likely skewed. With only one prototype available, it naturally received the most votes. As a result, I decided to discard this data to ensure it didn't impact my future interviews. This led me to explore a new method, starting with additional box folding.

Finalizing First Product

Humans are Good at Knowing what they Like, When Asked Right.

To get more accurate feedback on my packaging, I needed to make it more realistic and make each design a prototype. I printed each design dieline, folded them, and held them together with tape. Each box was placed on a sticky note to keep them stable and I kept the data on the bottom of them. My computer was used as a platter for the prototypes while I went around and asked users their opinions.

The data turned out nice with there being three color options that were out favored the remaining three designs. Below are the rankings of the three iterations for the facemasks.

1

2

3

The user feedback made me feel confident in my designs and I liked the way they looked. My founders loved them and were extremely excited because they were able to bring the prototypes to a venture competition. If you look hard down below you can see them sitting on the table along with the banner I had created for the tabeling.

Finalizing the Last Products

Color Coding Products is Effective.

With only three weeks left of the internship, we decided to not put as much effort into changing the remaining two product designs. Instead, I adjusted the content to the two new products and used the two-color palettes that hadn't been used yet.

This worked out nicely because we knew these colors were liked by our target audience, we just applied them to another product. Additionally, the colors matched the product. For instance, the blue colors matched the moisturizer, as it's hydrating and gentle. The cleansing balm is a deep burnt orange, which appears earthy, matching the natural elements of the product.

I adjusted each of the boxes to have the same information except for the ingredients used and product details.

Now with the die lines, I was able to make 3D models of the products. I used Pacdora to make various visual scenes to showcase each of the products.

The Final Product!

Render_Mockup_4000_3000_2024-08-09 (1).jpg

After so much time and effort the final designs came together. The founders and I were super excited about the packaging and used it on the website for the company. Each product has its distinct color palette, making it easy to differentiate each item. The Chick logo doesn't have an official color, allowing us to explore many different color choices for skincare products. Not only does it make it easy to differentiate, but it's fun and introduces diversity in our products.

Now with the products, we could start building the website around these items and all the science, values, and story Chick has to share. I'm still currently working on the website so stay tuned!

Takeaways

Making Designs for a Purpose.

Going through the iterative process of creating these designs was incredibly rewarding and fun. Each design was built upon the previous one, with the branding values and mission providing a solid structure. Having many people in my shared workspace was super useful, as many of them were our target audience. My favorite part was creating prototypes and getting user feedback, which was satisfying as a designer. Seeing stakeholders and users enjoy my work was gratifying and made me work harder. Knowing that my designs would impact people by providing information on healthy skincare made the project even more enjoyable. This experience taught me a great deal about holistic design approaches and creating products through human-centered design.