Problems in Cross Collaborations
Maria Guardazzi
Many companies experience damage to their public image as designers, how can we use help to salvage and reposition the image of a company? Through packaging, conceptualizing, and organizing a design plan, this project aims to revive a brand. The company chosen for testing this strategy is the lifestyle company JUUL, producer of vaporizing devices. JUUL’s image is currently in decline, due to the company’s perceived actions and marketing strategies. Conceptualizing the brand’s initial success was critical to organize a design plan. Their initial success came from the enjoyable flavors, an alternative to smoking, and the cool social image it successfully generated. Gripping these concepts, the project develops a nicotine-free JUUL, with a new branding direction focused on leveraging collaborations with more wholesome brands that might benefit from JUUL’s recent market cache. These collaborations include Nicoderm, Olly, Airborne, Nespresso and Godiva, selected for their health- or flavor-oriented products. The design plan aims at releasing a new healthier pattern design for the packaging bi-monthly (to stay on-trend), participation with pharmaceutical companies (as an alternative to nicotine), and integrating with flavorful brands. As designers, there are aesthetics and strategic decisions that can be made to redirect the image of a company — this project seeks to chart a way to both aid in the redefinition of the brand through cooperative measures while creating new hybrid identities between participating brands.